We Are Warriors- The Project Initiative:Disruption
by Elhini Prime
Summary: Years ago, six Champions were kidnapped from the League and turned into something more than human. Now, three more Champions have gone missing. Their families? Frantic. The Overdrive Projects have seen this before...but Caleb, Viktor's Chosen, claims to be innocent. Heavy ties with 'We Are Warriors' series, rating because of multiple chapters of torture.
1. Fight or Flight

**Well...I _did_ say I was taking a break from writing character arcs. :) A lot of you have been asking and _asking_ for me to do a sequel to the Project story. Well, since the release of the new Project skins, I've been plotting and _plotting_ to do this. And, yeah, there _was_ a reason I did Kat, Ashe and Ekko one after the other. Kat was random...the other two not so much :) So to those of you who figured out something _big_ was coming with the introduction of Kat, Ashe and Ekko's Chosens...you were right. I just tried to throw you off :) Anyways, without further ado...I give you We Are Warriors: The Project Initiative-Disruption.**

Chapter 1

Fight or Flight

David flew over the streets of Zaun as if he were born in this city, the wind ruffling his wild white hair as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

"How much farther, Ekko?" he asked.

 _"Not much farther,"_ Ekko replied, _"A few more buildings and then you'll be right above it,"_

David gave a nod, grabbing a pole and using it to vault over a particularly large gap. It had taken a few tries, aka rewinds, to find the pole and get to their destination _without_ falling to their deaths...but the feeling of actual flight over the abyss below? _That_ was worth it. Worth every bit.

David's feet hit the other roof with a satisfying thud and he continued onwards without missing a single beat. Ever since his near death and rebirth as a Chosen…he'd never felt more _alive_. Being Ekko's Chosen opened him up to all sorts of new things. The first of which being this newfound parkour ability.

He enjoyed every second of racing through the Zaun Grey, catching glimpses of the night sky far, _far_ above and even then still clouded by the chemicals pumped out by the factories that made up Zaun.

 _"Alright, down we go!"_ Ekko told him.

"Gotcha," David nodded, grabbing the fire escape and sliding down effortlessly before landing in a crouch on the broken cobble stone streets.

Chosen and Champion made their way towards a wall, lit with dimly flickering candles and adorned with the beautifully painted, life-like faces of those who had gone before. A Memory Wall. They were common in Zaun…it was a rough place to life, everyone knew it and everyone accepted it. David scanned over the faces, seeing a smiling girl with electric blue hair, another near her with bubblegum pink hair. But the one that Ekko seemed to be looking for was a young boy with a mop of curly brown hair and an almost cocky expression.

"Ajuna?" David asked softly as he looked at the shattered goggles that he remembered through Ekko's memories Ajuna used to wear.

 _"You mind if I uh…"_ Ekko started, his voice rough.

David nodded and his eyes flickered, gaining sparks of blue and green as Ekko gave a worn smile, gently patting the wall.

"Hey, Ajuna," he started before sitting down on the cobble stones, his bat on his lap, "It's ah…been a long time since I came to talk to you. A lot's happened since then. There's some Champions that took a shining to some kids from another world…You remember how I always wanted to be one, right? Heh, I know, Ekko dreaming big again, huh? Anyways…uh…one of those kids got my attention. So uh, I've got what they call a Chosen. His name's David, you'd like him…he's a lot like me but I can see some of you in him too. Maybe that's why I like him so much. Who wouldn't like a kid like you?"

He fell silent, imagining Ajuna's little form sitting beside him with that lopsided grin of his.

"Everyone's ok," Ekko continued, "Your dad misses ya, so does your lil' sister but…well…I've been doin' what I can, Ajuna. Man, you should see your little sis, she's shot up real big. She's up to my chest now. She's got that same smug lil' grin you do too…I…"

He stopped, hearing the scrape of metal on stone.

 _"We're not alone,"_ David muttered as Ekko got to his feet, holding his bat in a loose, yet ready, position.

"Yeah, I gathered that," Ekko growled as shapes prowled through the Grey, "Aw, man, please tell me it's not the Howler again…Warwick, we've been through this already! You can't chase members of the League! Remember? Only on the…"

He stopped as five Vigilnauts melted from the fog.

"…Rift…" Ekko sighed, "C'mon, can't a guy pay his respects for an old friend?"

The Vigilnauts charged and Ekko brought out his bat, his dark eyes hard as iron.

"Guess we'll do this the hard way," he growled as he tensed for the fight.

* * *

Tracy patrolled the rooftop of the Du Couteau mansion, her long red hair whipping about in the wind like a living flame. She took a deep breath, her slim shoulders sinking as she looked out over the sprawl of Noxus Prime.

 _"Care to say what's got you so beat up?"_ Katarina prodded.

"I just don't know where to look next, Kat," Tracy said, putting her hands on the hilt of her knives and shifting her weight to one hip, "We've looked _everywhere_ ,"

 _"Obviously not, or we would have found him,"_

"Yeah," Tracy gave a mirthless chuckle, before sighing, "Whaddya say we go check on the northern border again, huh? Maybe some Zaunites are slipping in and causing chaos,"

 _"Hmm…I like it,"_ Katarina agreed, _"Let's go, it'll take a while before we get there,"_

"True," Tracy nodded, doing a shunpo off the roof and landing elegantly on the ground right below, "That never gets old…"

 _"No, it really doesn't,"_ Katarina chuckled.

"And where do you two think you're going?" a gruff, male voice asked.

Tracy turned around just to see her cousin, Tommy, standing there, his hood pulled over his eyes and tapping Talon's massive blade with his fingernails.

"Northern border," Tracy shrugged, "Thought we'd check there again…maybe we missed something,"

Tommy's eyes narrowed under his hood and Tracy walked up to him, flicking his hood off his face and revealing Talon's long dark hair and rugged face.

"Tracy!" Tommy growled, yanking the hood back over his head.

Tracy's eyes flared a different shade of green and Katarina doubled over, laughing hard.

"Oh you're so much like him it's _hysterical_!" she howled, "I wonder if _Quinn_ and _Seluna_ have seen your lovely locks yet…"

Tommy's eyes flared brown and Talon grit his teeth.

"The day that happens is the day Pantheon takes off that blasted helmet of his," Talon growled, "Which is _never_ ,"

"Aw, c'mon, Talon, _live_ a little!" Katarina teased, flipping off the hood again and ruffling his hair.

"KAT!" Talon roared, swiping only for him to get a fistful of blue light as Katarina shunpoed away from him.

He glared at her as she sauntered away, waving.

"See you around, _baby brother_ ," she grinned.

"I swear, she's going to be the death of me…" Talon sighed only to pause, listening to Tommy, "So we'll die at the same time…just great…"

Katarina chuckled as she heard Tommy and Talon's conversation.

 _"They really think that?"_ Tracy asked, _"Aw, I didn't know we were so important,"_

Katarina snickered, heading to the stables and picking out the sable mare that was a last gift from her father. The mare snorted, stomping her foot twice before seeing who it was and nuzzling Katarina gently.

"Well hello to you too," she crooned, petting the velvet muzzle, "It's been a long time, hasn't it, old girl? What do you say we go for a ride,"

At the word 'ride' the mare's ears pricked forwards and she gave a soft nicker, butting her head against Katarina's chest.

"Thought so," Katarina grinned, starting to gather the tack and put it on her horse.

A few minutes after that, and Chosen and Champion were racing through the streets of Noxus Prime, galloping towards the northern border.

Hours of hard riding later, Tracy looked at the west, seeing the sun set, painting the far off slopes of Mount Targon a rich blood scarlet.

"Funny how you can see that place just about anywhere in Valoran," Tracy chuckled.

 _"It's the center of the continent, the Institute is right on the Noxian/Demacian border in Targon's shadow. Makes sense…since those three factions are Runeterra's most violent and best fighters,"_

The Mountain dwindled, being swallowed up by the fog from both the nightly mists and from the Zaun Grey as it reached out of the scar in the ground.

"I still don't quite know how I feel about this place," Tracy muttered as she reined the mare in, making her slow down and finally in front of a stable, "I know that we get a lot of good industry from them…but…"

 _"I don't like this place much either. I only come here when I have to,"_ Katarina agreed, _"But, we're here now. Time to get investigating,"_

Tracy patted the mare's sweaty neck.

"Good girl," she crooned, dismounting, "I'll get you a few apples for this,"

She led the mare over to a stall and let her drink and eat. She walked towards the entrance, hoping to find the keeper and pay for the mare's stay.

The creaking of metal caught Katarina's attention and the mare gave out a warning whinny. The Sinister Blade whipped out the twin daggers and dodged as a metal fist crashed through the stable wall, nearly catching her.

She saw a handful of Zaun's enforcers, Vigilnauts, come before her. She set her feet and charged.

"Blood for Noxus!" she yelled.

* * *

Amelia grabbed her bow and quiver, smiling as the sun sparkled over the snow. It was a beautiful day to hunt. She quietly slipped through the wooden halls of her 'palace' in Rakelstake. She was nearly out the door when heavy footsteps caught her attention. Her eyes flared blue and Ashe turned around to face her husband.

"Sneaking out again, are we?" Tryndamere teased, his ice-blue eyes sparkling as he came closer.

"I wanted to go hunting," she told him, "It's a perfect day, the snow is on the ground, tracking snow…so I'm sure I'll get something,"

Tryndamere gave a warm laugh and shook his head.

"Ah, I cannot be mad at you," he told her, "I only fear that something would happen to you,"

"Nothing is going to happen," she said to him, "I know these lands like the back of my hands, Tryndamere, everything will be fine, I promise,"

"I would still feel better if you let me or Braum come with you," he muttered.

"You'd scare off whatever animal came my way," Ashe teased, gently smacking his arm.

Tryndamere shook his head, chuckling.

"Always the comic, my dear," he grinned.

"Out of the two of us, one of us has to have a sense of humor,"

Tryndamere let out a roaring laugh, picking up his much smaller wife and whirling her around before giving her a tender, and surprisingly gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Stay safe, my dear," he told her before giving a wry smile, "You as well, Amelia,"

"Don't worry, we will," Amelia said, her dark gaze bright as she walked out the door, "He really does love you,"

 _"You thought otherwise?"_ Ashe asked.

"I didn't peg you for a big, bad, berserker kind of girl," Amelia shrugged as she walked through the village, acknowledging the reverent bows and greetings with a smile and wave.

 _"You're becoming quite the royal, Amelia,"_ Ashe told her, _"And I didn't fall in love with Tryndamere for his body or mind…though they help mind you,"_

Amelia snickered as she entered the woods.

 _"I fell in love with him for his heart, his passion,"_ came the reply, _"I will admit, at first, it was just a union for convenience, for forging allies…but now…I do truly love him. I do not know what I would do without him and he is the same way,"_

"A lot of people pair you with Braum, you know, right?"

 _"Braum is a good friend of mine,"_ Ashe said, _"I've known him since I was a child. He_ is _Iceborn and pretty much immortal at that. An immortal ruler on the throne would be a bad idea,"_

Amelia gave a thoughtful hum as she scanned over the scenery. A set of footprints in the snow caught the Frost Archer's attention and Amelia curiously made her way over to the tracks. Her brown eyes flared ice-blue and Ashe put her hand in the tracks, still feeling the residual warmth and noting the edges.

"They're fresh," she noted, "Something was here…something big,"

 _"Looks like we've got to be vigilant, right?"_ Amelia asked.

Ashe nodded and got up, walking farther into the woods as quietly as a snow wraith. She heard a rustling sound in the pines not far ahead and knocked an arrow to her bow, the True Ice arrow sending curls of super-cooled air off the shaft and head. She watched carefully, eyes narrowed as the rustling got louder…and louder…

Until a bunny hopped out of the pines.

 _"Aw, how cute. And we were afraid of_ that _,"_ Amelia chuckled.

Ashe gave a soft laugh as well.

"I _did_ tell Tryndamere I would come back with something," she reminded Amelia.

 _"Yeah…I know…"_ she mumbled as Ashe raised her bow.

She was almost about to loose the arrow when something bigger exploded out of the bush. A huge, eight point buck leaped from the brush, nearly barreling Ashe over. The Freljordian Queen hit the ground, her hood slipping off her head and sending her pale blonde hair spilling down her back.

 _"Ow,"_ Amelia groaned.

"You could say that again,"

 _"Ok, OW!"_

Ashe rolled her eyes and sat up…only for a bunch of mechanical monsters to crash through the trees, coming right for her. The Frost Archer shot to her feet, grabbing her bow and quiver and rushing through the forest, racing for Rakelstake…

Only for more of them to cut her off.

 _"We're surrounded!"_ Amelia cried.

Ashe's icy-blue eyes narrowed and she knocked a few arrows to her bow.

"For the Freljord," she growled and started to fire.

 **Not too much for a starter...the next one we see them fighting. This was just a prelude to the destruction. You all thought the _Overdrive_ stuff was bad...this is going to be _so_ much worse...**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	2. History Repeats

**I'm glad you all are liking this! Now we get into some action...there's quite a bit of blood and gore involved...no clean kidnapping like with the other six. So uh...yeah, we get to see how these three fair against the Vigilnauts set on them.**

Chapter 2

History Repeats

Ekko went catapulting into the wall from the crushing blow to his jaw. The Boy Who Shattered Time sucked in a precious breath, grabbing the knob on his wrist and twisting it right as the Vigilnauts closed in…

His world flashed blue and time skidded to a halt, reversing, his steps retracing themselves as his bat magically flew back into his hand and his hand raised, pulling the chain up with him.

 _"Do over,"_ David quipped.

"Yeah, no kidding," Ekko snorted, rubbing his jaw before hefting his bat.

The Vigilnauts charged again and Ekko dodged, ducking through the blow that had previously sent him into a wall with ungodly ease. His keen gaze looked at the big bully he had just dodged, looking for weak points. He could see a small bit of wire, frosted over with super cooled crystals, pumping coolant into the Vigilnaut to keep those oh so delicate systems from overheating. He could see the exhaust port on the monster's hand, belching out noxious smoke and brimstone and giving the fist its power. More importantly…

He saw the little screw that held the whole blasted arm together.

He gave a small laugh.

Typical Chem Baron's and their lap dog's brilliance. Put all that power into one punch…and there'll be nothing left if their opponent comes back up swinging.

He grinned, swiping at the coolant tube, knocking it free from its connecting slot, sending coolant spraying in a silvery-grey fog over everything. He dashed back in, slicing the screw in half and making the first Vigilnaut lose complete control over its hand, the kick from the belching exhaust port catapulting it across the square and into a wall, collapsing it on top of it.

"One down, four to go," Ekko grinned...only to get sucker punched again and launched across the square, into the burning candles.

He yelled in pain as the hot wax and flame seared his back and arms, he could smell his hair being singed…God how he hated that smell…

The blue and green specks in his eyes faded and David yanked the chain on the Z-Drive…

.

.

.

"Let's not do that again," David growled as he dove past the first Vigilnaut, slashing its coolant tube, then the screw holding it together, once again making it catapult into the far wall.

 _"Yeah…"_ Ekko groaned as David rubbed his jaw faintly.

The next Vigilnaut swung at him, hoping to once again send him into the Memory Wall and its candles, but David had learned from the rewind. The Chosen dodged out of the way, hitting the ground in a roll, slashing at the second Vigilnaut's coolant tube again…but he missed and hit the screw instead. David watched in slight amusement as the hand went limp and useless. He dashed in again, slashing the coolant tube and hitting it…and making the whole Vigilnaut freeze as the coolant sprayed over it, a statue of ice and metal.

"Ok, _that's_ interesting _…_ " David hummed as Ekko took back control.

"Yeah, I'll have to use that next time…" he grinned, "Three more,"

The Vigilnaut, just like the others, charged him and Ekko leaped high into the air, flipping over the monster and yelping as the fourth came in, swinging. Ekko ducked, letting the fist swing over him and collide with the other one, sending it careening into another wall.

"Nice!" he chuckled, dodging as the fist came for him next, "Aw, c'mon, that all you got?"

The Boy Who Shattered Time dove back in, avoiding the next swing…only for the Vigilnaut to kick him _hard_ into the wall, sending his bat clattering from his grip.

 _"Not good…"_ David murmured as Ekko crawled, pain stabbing through his ribs as he painfully reached for his bat…only for the final Vigilnaut to crush his arm with it's massive foot.

Ekko shrieked, an eerie sound that reverberated along the walls and alleys of the City of Iron and Glass. Blood seeped from the shattered appendage, pain white and hot seared through Ekko's vision. The Vigilnaut lifted its foot and Ekko rolled, grabbing the bat and limping backwards. He grabbed the chain with his uninjured hand, pulling…

Only for it to come apart, clinking as the little metallic links clicked against one another.

 _"_ Really _not good!"_ David panicked.

Fear and bile rose in Ekko's throat as he stumbled back.

He couldn't rewind…not without risking breaking the Z-Drive. The remote on his glove only worked in emergencies and it _still_ wasn't repaired since the last time he used it…

 _"Ekko…c'mon…think!"_ David yelled, _"We can't die out here!"_

The two Vigilnauts charged, sure that they had their prey. Ekko's dark gaze turned iron hard as he grabbed his bat and aimed, not at the Vigilnauts…

But at the Z-Drive.

 _"Ekko!"_ David cried.

"One more…step…" Ekko threatened, "And I blow us all…sky high. All I have to do is…smash it,"

The Vigilnauts slowed to a halt, trying to figure out if Ekko was bluffing.

"I built this…with my own two hands," he growled, his shattered and useless arm shaking in pain, "You know how many times I blew myself up? Not pretty. Your 'boss'…the one who sent you to take me…prob'ly doesn't want me dead, huh?"

They took a step closer and Ekko raised an eyebrow, bringing his bat closer to the delicate piece of machinery.

"Make me repeat myself," he ordered, "I'm all out of warnings,"

The Vigilnauts slowly backed away, melting back into the Zaun fog.

 _"Uh…you really_ weren't _going to blow us all up…were you?"_ David asked.

Ekko said nothing, just slowly started making his way back towards his home.

 _"Ekko…"_

"I'd rather die than be one of _those_ ," he finally growled, "'s why my crew didn't get those augments. We stayed human. It's…why I feel sorry for Leona and the others…the Projects. They had that forced on 'em because the Robot couldn't keep his curiosity down,"

 _"But blowing us up…"_ David deadpanned.

"Sometimes ya gotta do some drastic things," Ekko shrugged…

Right as something struck him hard in the back of his head, hurling him into the wall. Ekko gave a gasping cry as darkness crawled into his vision. The last thing he saw was a pair of boots and a dark trench coat before darkness completely took him in its embrace.

* * *

Katarina darted in and out of reach, a shadow of crimson that flickered just within grasp before flickering away. She gave a smile as she finally came to a rest, resting her hands on her knives. Two Vigilnauts came at her and Katarina's knives came to life, slicing through the wire on their legs and making them crumple to their knees. Hot, crimson blood sprayed into the air as the cold silver blades of her knives carved second smiles on their persons. Two down, four to go.

The Vigilnauts still stood there, Katarina gave a wicked grin as she flicked the blood and oil mixture off her blades.

"Still standing there? Good. It's no fun if you run…" she gave a loud laugh, "Because if you _run_ …"

Her eyes flared a different shade of green.

"You won't see us _stab_ you," Tracy finished.

Tracy didn't like killing, but in the few months she had been Chosen, she'd had to do it on a regular basis. Either kill or be killed on the Rift. In Noxus, much of that was the same principle, but being one of the daughters of House Du Couteau had its advantages. Mess with one of _them_ …and your life was forfeit by the League from the Blade's Shadow, the Serpent's Embrace _and_ the Sinister Blade. The Chosens of the members of House Du Couteau were effective and efficient killers now.

The Chosen slightly shifted her feet, giving a wry smile as she blew her red bangs out of her face. Her knives shone in the moonlight seeping through the shattered stable. She could hear her mare whickering nervously. Two more Vigilnauts came at her and Tracy hurled a knife at one, catching it in the throat. She shunpo-ed to it, grabbed her knife and ripped it free, sending blood spraying as she took the same knife and hurled it at another one, pinning its head to the wall through its eye socket.

 _"Nice shot,"_ Katarina praised.

"I learned from the best," Tracy replied, performing another shunpo and appearing in the middle of the Vigilnauts.

 _"Aw, I'm feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Ugh,"_ Katarina huffed with a teasing tone.

Tracy rolled her eyes, and pulled out multiple blades smiling as she suddenly whirled around, sending the blades out in a fan as she spun. Knives stuck out of everywhere, through boards of the wall, on the floor where they had pinged off armor, some stuck through skin…one of the Vigilnauts was pinned through the earlobe…

 _"Your Death Lotus needs work,"_ Katarina remarked.

"Sadly," Tracy grumbled, relinquishing control to Katarina and letting the Champion have at it.

Katarina grabbed a few of the fallen knives and started swinging, using her much better speed and agility to fly around the cramped space, a little cut here, a little slice there. Being a nuisance if anything. She didn't want a full on confrontation. That would mean the death of her if she stayed and tried to fight head on. So, she did what any good assassin would do. She struck hard and struck fast before dodging out and diving back in. Tracy likened it to being a mosquito, doing a little bit of damage and being annoying…before delivering the final blow that would make everything fall into place.

She came to a stop finally, twirling her knives around her fingers before blinking to another Vigilnaut and slicing one blade across its throat, following up with the other, making a scarlet 'X' that bled down its chest and it crumpled to the floor, its lifeblood draining into the wooden slats. The last one, who had been pinned through the earlobe, managed to rip itself free and charge at Katarina.

 _"KAT!"_ Tracy yelled.

Katarina leapt up into the air, her body twisting lithely as the Vigilnaut charged beneath her. She landed on its back and sank two knives into the soft, fleshy area that wasn't covered in armor. She twisted the knives and the Vigilnaut's struggling started to cease. The Sinister Blade elegantly shunpo-ed off, landing on her feet on a blood-free patch.

She sighed, wiping the blood off her knives as she retrieved them and put them back in their scabbards.

 _"Still amazes me how many knives we can fit on our person…considering the outfit,"_

Katarina gave a wry grin.

"You learn quick where to hide things…make them _think_ you're defenseless," she replied, touching her face and sighing as it came away bloody…but not her own, "Might as well get cleaned up so that we don't draw attention,"

 _"Right…I think I saw a few towels or something like that in the back where we came from,"_

"I think I saw those too," Katarina nodded, starting to walk towards the back.

That was when the wall next to her exploded, sending shards of wood and stone spraying into the air. A large chunk of rock struck Katarina in the head and she fell to the floor, darkness overtaking her as the sound of heavy feet on wood caught her ear.

* * *

Ashe dodged out of the way of the first strike. Snow sprayed into the still morning air, the Frost Archer knocked a few arrows to her bow and fired in quick succession. Icy bolts sprayed in a fan, taking a few of the monsters in chinks in their armor, slick sheets of silvery-blue ice starting to form on their armor, freezing joints and making them stiffen, harder to move.

 _"We won't last very long like this,"_ Amelia told her, _"Not surrounded. We need to get out!"_

"I agree," Ashe nodded, only for a slight breeze to alert her to movement behind her.

 _"ASHE LOOK OUT!"_ Amelia cried, taking control.

The Frost Archer's Chosen whirled around, shooting an arrow backwards, nearly hitting the monster that had grabbed her bow. Amelia shifted her grip on the bow so that she could turn around and nailed the monster's still human face with a well placed elbow.

 _"Well done!"_ Ashe praised as the monster stumbled back and Amelia gripped her bow like a club.

The Chosen swung, the pointed edges of the bow impaling the monster's head, like glass. And, like glass, pierced the skin and sent blood dripping down into its eyes. It then got an arrow to the throat as Amelia dashed forwards and yanked it out. She didn't want to kill… but these things were certainly not friendly. If they caught her…they could very well kill her with a single blow.

One of the monsters charged her again, Amelia took a breath, a single, _large_ arrow forming on the bow's string. It glittered with silvery-blue light, waves of cold radiating off of it as the arrow grew, bigger and bigger until she released it, sending the Enchanted Crystal Arrow flying, entombing the monster in a large, glacier-like shard of ice.

Ashe took control, bolting into the trees and climbing one of them. She was lighter than those things, so she could, in theory, stay up here until they got bored and left.

Unfortunately, she had neither the supplies nor the time to do that. For while _she_ could wait for a while…they could wait longer and if they got mad enough…there was the chance that they would ram the tree down.

 _"We might have to try and pick them off,"_ Amelia reasoned.

"That would seem like a _very_ good idea," Ashe agreed, summoning a few more arrows and putting them to the string, "There is supposed to be a rather large blizzard later today…I want to get back to Rakelstake before it hits,"

 _"You and me both,"_ Amelia shuddered, _"I don't care much for the cold…"_

Ashe gave a soft laugh and aimed for the monsters. She fired, catching one right between the eyes, sending it toppling down into powdery snow. She shot at another one, the shot plinked off its armor and it plowed into the tree. Ashe grabbed onto the tree, holding with knuckles white as the pine shook and trembled from the blow. Snow fell down her shirt and into her pale blonde hair, making her give a shudder as the icy slush began to melt.

She fired another shot, catching the one that charged the tree in the neck, a strange mixture of scarlet and black sludge spurted from the wound and it collapsed to the ground, steam hissing from the melting snow. Ashe continued to fire, her bow glowing with an eerie blue light as she hit four shots in a row. Suddenly, each single arrow became five, rushing from her bow in a flurry of movement that seemed agonizingly slow only to Ashe and Amelia as their focus sharpened and they continued to open fire from their perch in the tree.

Another monster rammed the tree. The pine creaked and groaned, swaying precariously and dangerously wild, making Champion and Chosen grip onto it tighter. There was just one more monster…the one that was beneath them, ramming the tree for all it's worth.

 _"One shot left, Ashe,"_ Amelia told her, _"We need to kill it now or we're on the ground,"_

Ashe gave a nod and knocked one final arrow to her bow, aiming. She took a deep breath, the heat from it ruffling the downy, snow and frost fletching and beading it with condensation, melting the edges ever so slightly.

"Fly," she ordered and released the arrow.

The world seemed to go still and all she could hear was the eerie whistling of the arrow on its course…

And the meaty _'smack!'_ as it hit its target…right between the eyes. The monster fell dead at the foot of the tree. Amelia gave a cheer as Ashe relinquished control, pumping her fist in the air as she stood upright.

"Yeah! For Freljord!" Amelia hollered, "Take that you dirty metal sons of bi-!"

 _"AMELIA!"_ Ashe yelled as the tree gave an alarming creaking sound and began to fall.

Amelia shrieked as she held on to the tree as it toppled to the ground, sending her flying off and rolling through the bloodied snow, hitting her head against a rock. She vaguely heard the sound of ice cracking and watched as the monster Ashe had shot with the Crystal Arrow was freed from its prison.

She watched as it lumbered towards her…and then everything went dark as it stopped.

 **I figured out of all of them, Amelia and Ashe would have the hardest time...seeing as how they are ranged and in uh...a sticky situation. Anyway, next time we've got some 'fun' stuff happening.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	3. Missing

**And now for aftermath of them being taken (this is not focused on the Champions...rather their loved ones). Sorry all, I'm currently on Spring Break and haven't had time to write. My mom's currently going through Chemotherapy so I've been helping her out (...and been doing Music History homework that I uh...put off until the last minute...). I um, I really hate to be this person, but I see everyone reading this and I only get a few responses from you all (i.e. reviews). I just don't know if I'm doing my job right and I'll be the first to admit I'm self-conscious when it comes to that kinda thing. So, uh, even if it's just a 'good job!' that's all I care about. I'm going through a really rough patch (you'll most likely see me putting these guys through Hell soon enough because of that) and those reviews make my day.**

Chapter 3

Missing

Andrew was sitting at his desk, working on some paperwork. Three new Champion applications…he'd have some 'fun' with this. One was a young Shuriman wanting to prove herself, one was a _tree_ (oh well, Maokai and Zyra would have company…), and the last was a Piltovian _assassin_.

"Having fun in here?" a female voice asked, making Andrew look up and see a sturdily built red-head in golden armor.

"Three new Champions," Andrew said, "The Council gave them to me so I can see if they're worthy to join the League,"

"Wait…you still do the Judgements?" Cira asked, blue eyes bright in curiosity as she came closer.

"Of course," Andrew nodded, "Not everyone can join the League. You remember yours, Leona,"

Cira's eyes flared a warm gold and Leona gave a shake of her scarlet head.

"Of course, who can forget getting stabbed in the stomach," she replied dryly, getting a chuckle from Andrew.

"Quite the show, if I do say so myself," he preened.

"Considering you've only been to the Mountain once…it was pretty accurate," Leona nodded, "And you got some of the images from me,"

The Radiant Dawn looked at the pictures of the Champions, giving a slight smile as she examined them.

"I wonder if they too will have Chosens," she murmured.

"With how everything is going at the moment…I would say it is very plausible," Andrew told her, "It wouldn't surprise me if every Champion had a Chosen in the next few years,"

The Mountain Woman gave a warm laugh as she picked her blade off the side of the desk.

"Well, I'll let you get back to work," she told him, "We've got a match in a few minutes,"

"Best of luck," Andrew told her, "Don't crush them _too_ hard,"

Cira gave a laugh and waved, walking out the door right as another person stormed in.

"Oh, hi, Tryn, sorry about bumping into you," Cira said, "See you all later,"

Andrew looked up to see a very, _very_ angry looking Tryndamere before his desk.

 _"Oh boy…they didn't tell him he had to hold back again did they?"_ he thought as the Barbarian King slammed the tip of his blade into the floor.

"Where is she?" Tryndamere growled.

"Where's who?" Andrew asked.

"Where is my wife,"

Andrew frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked, eyes narrowed slightly.

"Ashe has been missing for three days," Tryndamere snapped, "She left to go hunting and never came back. We have sent search parties all out through Freljord, but they had to turn back because of the storm. She has not come back,"

"She hasn't had anyone Summon her," Andrew shrugged, "I don't know where she could _be_ Tryndamere,"

Tryndamere's pale eyes flamed in rage right as a loud crash sounded from outside. Andrew came around his desk and opened the door just to see Tommy get sent flying past him down the hall.

"…Tommy?! Talon, what's going on?" Andrew demanded.

But Talon didn't see to hear him, the assassin got back up to his feet, blades flickering out into his palms as he shot towards whatever threw him.

"WHERE IS SHE!?" Talon roared, leaping upwards and tackling _Garen_ to the ground, who hurled him into a wall, "YOU DEMACIAN DOG! WHERE IS KAT?!"

"I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU THE SAME!" came the bellow from Garen as he picked up Talon by the hood and dangled the much shorter Champion and his Chosen five inches off the ground.

"Kat's missing too?!" Andrew blinked as Kaitlyn slithered up, holding her arms.

She gave a small nod, tears brimming from her cat-like eyes and her perfect lips trembled.

"For th-three days," Kaitlyn sniffed, "She…she was going towards the northern border to see if she could find Kat and Cass' Dad…but…but she didn't come back. Her horse did…c-covered in blood…"

Her eyes flared green and Cassiopeia took control.

"Talon and I went to investigate and we saw the stable completely wrecked…knives everywhere. Whoever took Kat certainly didn't leave without some battle scars. Talon spotted a Demacian patrol and immediately assumed they took her…" she held her arms closer to her chest as her serpentine lower half curled in on itself, "She wasn't there…"

"High Summoner Andrew Daybreaker?" a female voice asked, making Andrew sigh.

"Tryndamere, can you break them up?" he grumbled.

Tryndamere gave a nod and cracked his knuckles, starting towards the furious Demacian and Noxian while Cassiopeia watched with a grin. Andrew turned away from the ensuing smackdown and faced an initiate with curly red hair that was barely contained by the violet hood of her robes.

"Initiate Alisa," he greeted, "What is it?"

"Um…there are two Zaunites that want to see you," Alisa said, "They said it's urgent,"

Andrew frowned, what was going on?

"Bring them to my office…it looks like I'm going to be entertaining four nations today…"

* * *

Andrew sat at his desk, arms folded and watching as Garen and Talon still glared daggers at one another. He had put a barrier between them both to keep them from going at each other's throats, but he figured they'd find a way to get at each other soon enough. Tryndamere stood next to the window, arms crossed and leaning on his blade. Cassiopeia was near Talon, but still mostly out of vision while they waited for the two Zaunites to get to the office. Andrew looked up as the door creaked open and a dark-skinned couple came in. Both looked completely worn out, clothes plain, but meticulously taken care of…they had worn their best to the Institute and Andrew knew that.

"Good afternoon," he greeted, "My apologies, we're having some problems between these three nations and some of the other Champions. But I can get to them in a bit. What are you here for?"

"Mr. Summers," the woman said softly, "My name is Kaela and this is my husband Elian. We…we want to know what happened to our son,"

"Your son?" Andrew started before his expression became understanding, "I know where I've seen you before…you're Ekko's parents,"

"Ekko…seems he still keeps that nickname," his father chuckled, shaking his head before turning to Andrew, "He's been missing for three days. I told Kaela he was probably running with friends or here at the Institute…but…she kept shooting me down,"

"We talked with one of his friends, Silva," his mother said, "She hasn't seen him since the beginning of the week…so we came here,"

"I hate to say this, but Ekko hasn't been here for quite some time," Andrew explained.

"And David?" Kaela asked, raising an eyebrow.

Andrew looked taken aback. Very, _very_ few non-Champions or non-Summoners knew about the Chosens…

"How…" he asked.

"I'm his mother, you honestly expect me to not know my own son?" Kaela growled.

Of course…that wouldn't surprise him one bit. It made Andrew wonder if Astra knew about Cira and Mir…

"Please, Mr. Summers, he's our only child…" Kaela whispered, "I can't lose him…"

" _Three_ Champions now?" Garen demanded, "Andrew, I do not know about you, but this seems _eerily_ familiar to what happened nearly seven years ago…"

"Caleb wouldn't," Andrew argued, "I trust Caleb,"

"And Viktor?" Tryndamere growled, "What's saying _he_ wouldn't?"

"Viktor can't do anything without Caleb knowing…" Andrew stated, even though he sounded just a tad unsure.

"Viktor?" Elian frowned, "I know he's done some unorthodox things in the past…but would he really hurt a child?"

Andrew's face turned pale and then stormy as his fists clenched.

"He has in the past," he growled, "I'll question him…If I turn anything up, I will let you all know. In the meantime, I would be happy to help you all search for them,"

He turned to Talon and Cassiopeia.

"Tommy, Kaitlyn, it might be a good idea to get a search committee on Earth as well. Search for David and Amelia as well,"

Talon's brown eyes turned blue and Tommy nodded.

"I'm going to go have a chat with Caleb," Andrew sighed, getting up and walking out the door.

* * *

"What's got everyone worked up?" Caleb asked, watching as a bunch of Champions and Summoners raced around the Institute like chickens with their heads cut off.

 _"I have not the slightest idea…"_ Viktor hummed, _"But, perhaps it is best if we went back to our room and stayed out of everyone's way?"_

"Yeah…I kinda agree with that," Caleb nodded, "That means I get to work on the project more,"

 _"Right you are,"_ Viktor agreed as Caleb shut the door and went to his workbench.

He had just sat down when the door opened again. Caleb turned around and saw a mildly upset Andrew standing just in front of the door.

"Oh, hi," Caleb blinked before turning back to his work, "What's up Andrew? You look pretty mad…"

"Three Champions have gone missing from the League," Andrew stated.

Caleb stopped, looking at Andrew in shock.

"That's why everyone's running around like chickens with their heads cut off," Caleb reasoned, "I'm surprised they're not locking themselves in their rooms…wait…if that's true, I'm _not_ leaving this room,"

Andrew's eyes narrowed.

"Caleb, did you have anything to do with the missing Champions?" he asked quietly.

"Huh? No, Andrew, I've been here all day," Caleb explained.

"This happened three days ago, Caleb. The Champions, the _Chosens_ ' families thought they were just out on a hunt, running with friends…but three days is a _very_ long time, Caleb,"

"I was on Earth three days ago," Caleb said, "Remember? I got really sick? I was at home asleep most of that day. You can ask my parents. Ugh, _worst_ Spring Break of my _life_ …"

"Caleb, the last time Champions went missing…was seven years ago when six were taken,"

"Seven…wasn't that when the Projects happened?" Caleb asked before he blinked, shocked, "Wait, you think _I_ took them!? That I did something to them!? Andrew! I was puking up my toenails three days ago! I couldn't move from my bed!"

 _"That is true…it was quite disgusting,"_ Viktor agreed.

"See, even Viktor is on my side," Caleb huffed, "You guys took me out from play, _remember_!? Andrew I thought you trusted me…"

"I _do_ trust you, Caleb," Andrew said, "But I can't ignore the fact that you are bonded with the Champion that did this in the past. I…"

The door opened again and Senior Summoner Ezekiel Montrose came in.

"Andrew," he stated.

"Ezekiel," Andrew grumbled.

Caleb blinked slightly, "Uh…Viktor? Care to fill me in?"

 _"Oh, this will be interesting…"_ Viktor muttered, _"Ezekiel and Andrew do not like each other very well,"_

"Why?"

 _"Bad bloodlines,"_ Viktor explained, _"Remember how Andrew is a genetic mixture of Freljordian, Ionian and Demacian?"_

"He's Avarosan, yeah?"

 _"Ezekiel Montrose is also Freljordian…Winter's Claw tribe. He is also of Noxian descent. If the rumors are correct, he is also the reason why Andrew is not Senior Summoner. The Tribunal gave it to Ezekiel because somehow Andrew got horribly ill and missed the interview that would have gotten him the position. He has tried multiple times to kick Andrew Summers out of the League, but…he is one of the best Support Summoners of his age and no one knows the Champions better than he on a personal level. Therefore, the Tribunal made Andrew the Judge,"_

"So these two hate each other… _great_ ," Caleb sighed.

"What are you doing in here, Andrew," Ezekiel asked.

"I'm getting answers," Andrew said calmly, "As you may have noticed…we are missing three Champions _and_ their Chosens. The last time something like this happened, Viktor was responsible. As I recall… _you_ were the one who shot me down the last time,"

"And I'm going to shoot you down again," came Ezekiel's retort, "Andrew, while past evidence has proved Viktor guilty…there is no reason that he is guilty this time. We have examined the scenes of the crime and have found _nothing_ that makes him guilty. If anything some bandits absconded with them,"

"You're talking about three _Champions_ ," Andrew deadpanned, "One who controls time itself, one who freezes whatever she touches and the other who is one of the best Noxian assassins that country has ever known,"

"Innocent until proven guilty, Andrew," Ezekiel stated, "Now, I'm going to have to ask you to leave…or do we need to find another Judge?"

Andrew's icy blue gaze burned angrily, but, with a deep breath, he stormed out of the room.

"Sorry about him…he's a little _temperamental_. You _did_ happen to take one of his favorites from him all those years ago, Viktor,"

Viktor took control.

"I understand…but, she has adapted well to her changes. I assure you, my Chosen did not touch these missing Champions," Viktor said.

"I'll take your word for it," Ezekiel nodded before leaving.

 _"That was scary…"_ Caleb muttered as Viktor sat down at the workbench, _"Ugh, that medicine Mom gave me is starting to kick in again…"_

"Rest," Viktor told his Chosen, "I will wake you should something interesting happen,"

 _"Thanks,"_

And with that, Caleb's consciousness dimmed. Viktor breathed out a sigh and pulled out a set of blueprints, beginning to work. The curved design was aerodynamic and flawless, a cryo-core installed within it to generate super-cooled bolts of plasma. It was one of his finer weapons.

He just couldn't wait to build it and give it to its recipient.

 **So uh, Andrew is _very_ much convinced that Caleb is responsible (well, Viktor at least). But, just like last time, he is shot down and told to leave him alone. But, is Andrew right or is he just being paranoid? Well, you'll find out next chapter. **

**I _do_ have some references here, see if you can find them! Also, 'Daybreaker' is Andrew's Summoner name. Initiates refer to their higher-ups by their first name and by their Summoner name.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	4. Awakening

**So, this time we go back with our three future Projects. We'll _also_ see who is responsible for this. A lot of you are right on who it is...I mean, who else? There's some humor, some squabbling, some pain...but nothing compared to what's _going_ to happen. **

Chapter 4

Awakening

Everything _hurt_. Pain throbbed from his head, from his arm, his chest…keeping his eyes closed wasn't making it any better, which he didn't like one bit.

"Ahhhh," he moaned, slowly opening his eyes, "Ekko?"

Ekko was silent, David sensed that he was still _very_ much unconscious. David looked around, his dark gaze taking in the surroundings. He was strapped to a cold metal table…because _why not_ …There were multiple metal pipes threading the ceiling…it looked like the bowels of the Sump, but much, _much_ cleaner. No acid green pools or smog here.

"Everything hurts…" he mumbled as the throbbing grew in intensity.

" _You_ think everything hurts?" came an agitated female voice, "Funny, _very_ funny,"

"…Tracy?" David blinked, "is that you?"

"No, it's Kaitlyn," Tracy snapped, "Of _course_ its me, David!"

David's eyes adjusted to the dim light and he saw Tracy.

"Yikes, you look _messed up_ ," he blinked.

"You don't look like you'd win any beauty pageants either!" Tracy snapped, "You get caught in an explosion, see how _you_ hold up!"

David glared at her and a second voice piped up.

"If you two could _knock it off_ , that'd be great," Amelia grumbled, "I've got a splitting headache…"

"Wow, what happened to you, _your highness_ ," Tracy snarked, rotating her wrists around and trying to free herself from the cuffs.

"What happened to her?" David asked, "I can't see,"

"She's got a big friggin' _goose egg_ on the side of her head…and a black eye," Tracy said, "Nothin' as bad as you and me…but I bet it _really_ hurts,"

"What happened to David?" Amelia asked.

"Oh nothing, I just have my arm _ruined_ and a few broken ribs and other nasty stuff," David huffed, "Why, what happened to you?"

"I fell out of a tree and hit a rock,"

"And bumped your little head?" David chuckled.

"Shut up,"

"Alright, _your majesty_ ," David teased.

"All I know is that whatever those big metal things were…they put up a fight," Amelia grumbled.

"Wait…metal things?" Tracy asked.

"Yeah, looked like wrestlers only with a lot of armor and augments and stuff,"

"Vigilnauts!" David exclaimed, "They downed me too. What about you Tracy?"

"Yeah, they ambushed me in a stable…and then blew it to splinters with me inside…"

"No wonder you look like you got in a fight with a tree and lost," Amelia teased.

"Shut up!"

"Do you have any idea of where the heck we _are_?" Amelia asked.

"Nope," Tracy shrugged.

"Well…" David started, "It uh…kinda looks like something from the Sump,"

He frowned.

"Ekko," he tried, getting a low moan to reverberate in his skull, "Hey, Ekko, c'mon man, I need ya. Answer me…"

 _"Agh…tell the guy with a jackhammer to lay oooooofffffff…"_ Ekko moaned.

David gave a soft laugh, and immediately regretted it as pain shot through his, Ekko's, ribs.

"You conscious enough to give an idea of where we are?" David asked as the pain ebbed a little.

David's dark eyes gained specks of blued green and Ekko blearily looked around.

"Sleeping Beauty awakes," Tracy chuckled beforegasping in pain.

Ekko ignored her, looking around the best he could.

"Yeah…still in Zaun…I don't _recognize_ this place, but uh…looks like a deep part of the Sump," he muttered.

"Zaun?" Amelia asked, "How did I get _here_?! I was in Freljord outside of Rakelstake!"

"Dunno," Tracy said, "But whatever the case…we need to get outta here,"

"Agree there," Ekko nodded, rotating his working wrist against the shackle holding it down, "This thing's leather…we could probably get out if we worked it hard enough…"

"Let's get to it then," Amelia said, "I can't reach the teleportation stone from where I'm at…once we get free, we can _leave_ and get to the Institute,"

"Sounds like a plan," Tracy nodded.

And they started to work on freeing themselves.

* * *

Little did the trio know, they were being watched from a one-way window behind them. Their captor gave a pleased smile as he watched them work to free themselves.

"Clever," he murmured, watching as they struggled, "But they will not be escaping anytime soon,"

He looked at the three glowing stones in his palm, one icy blue, one blood red, one teal green. He'd held stones like that before…he himself had one. Stones created by the Summoners and many geomancers from Mount Targon to teleport the bearer to the Institute or to their home. Without them, it would take these three Champions a long, _long_ time to find their way out to the surface…let alone back to their homes.

"You will not be getting away that easily," he muttered, "I learned from my mistakes last time,"

He felt a slight stirring in his soul and he quickly turned back around, facing away from the 'window' and towards a workbench.

 _"…Working hard again?"_ came the tired yawn.

"Yes," he replied, "You are still unwell and tired, go back to sleep. I am just finishing up a few things here and then we will head back,"

 _"Alright…I trust you,"_

And with that, the consciousness faded.

"A poor decision, really," he muttered, turning back around once he was sure the other presence, his _Chosen_ was asleep.

If his Chosen knew what he was doing…he would not hear the end of it and his Chosen would stop him. His Chosen could not find out. His Chosen _wouldn't_ find out.

Not if he had anything to say about it.

* * *

By this time, Katarina and Ashe had become conscious, both voicing their confusion to their Chosens, who explained to the best of their ability.

"This is _pointless_!" Katarina snarled, thrashing against the, still _very_ much intact, manacles.

"Well said," Ashe chuckled, "Considering you have no knives,"

The ungodly scream from Katarina made Ekko wince and laugh at the same time. He kept forcing his fingers to find the latch he _knew_ was on the right side. He could see it on Katarina's table, so he figured it was the same for him. His fingers brushed against a screw and Ekko's eyes brightened.

"I found it!" he called.

"Found what?" Ashe asked.

"The screw holding me to the table," the youngest Champion told her, painfully making his fingers contort to get a grip on the screw head.

He twisted, ignoring the screaming pain in his hand as the tendons protested. He'd get a break after…once he was free. The screw started coming undone…

 _Clink!_

Ekko gave a yell of triumph as his right hand came free. Katarina and Ashe both looked at Ekko as he reached over and freed his left hand as well, sliding off the table and limping over to Katarina, holding his shattered and mangled left arm.

"Good job, kid," Katarina praised, getting a wry smile from Ekko, "Now get me outta here,"

"Not wasting time, I promise," Ekko told her, getting a soft chuckle from Ashe, "But my hand _is_ wrecked…"

He undid the strap on Katarina's right wrist before hobbling around the table and freeing her left. Katarina sat up, rubbing her wrists.

"Seriously, Tracy, did it ever occur to you that you wouldn't get out of those cuffs by rotating your wrists?" she grumbled.

 _"Well sooooorrrryyyy!"_ Tracy huffed, _"Not my fault I didn't have any knives on me that I could reach. So I did my best!"_

"Hey, Kat, help me with Ashe," Ekko called, "We'll get outta here faster if you do,"

Katarina blew a strand of her crimson hair out of her eyes and hopped off the table…yeah, big mistake. The whole room swam and Katarina felt Ekko's hands on her shoulders, steadying her.

"Careful, Kitty-Kat. Don't wanna make you ruin your face worse than it is," he told her.

Katarina glared at him and threw his hands off.

"I'm _fine_ ," she huffed, limping over to Ashe's left side and working on freeing the young queen.

Ekko shrugged and did the same on the right side. Soon, the Freljordian and her Chosen were free, slowly sitting up and holding her head, nursing the knot on the back of her head.

"You ready to move?" Ekko asked, "I can _probably_ get us outta here,"

"What for? We've got our…" Katarina stopped as her hand brushed against where the teleportation stone was kept…

Or rather…where it _used_ to be kept. The blood red stone was gone.

"Katarina?" Ashe asked.

"The stone's gone," came the reply.

"You honestly thought that whoever caught us was going to leave those stones in our possession?" Ekko deadpanned, "Jeeze, I thought Pilties were slow…"

Katarina grabbed him and hoisted him up _maybe_ two inches.

"Say that again," she growled.

"HEY!" Amelia, not Ashe, yelled, "Come on you two, get a hold of yourselves. We have to rely on one another to get out. Kat, you and I don't know this place well. Ekko and David do. We need to listen to them. We're all unarmed and in a strange place…we have to rely on each other. I don't want to die down here…and I doubt you two do as well,"

Katarina dropped Ekko unceremoniously to the floor, getting a pained groan from the Boy Who Shattered Time.

"Fine, what do you suggest, kid," Katarina huffed.

"That you don't _drop_ me again and get an attitude check!" Ekko growled, struggling to his feet, "We've got to get out of the _room_ first. Once we do that, I can see where the heck we are,"

"Yeah, good luck with that, looks like those doors are made of foot thick steel," Katarina said.

"Cira's house anyone?" Amelia muttered, "The basement?"

"Oh, you mean their little sparring/torture chamber?" Tracy chuckled, "Yeah, that whole back wall that's filled with holes from where Cira put her fist through it,"

"And _that_ is why we don't tick off the Support," Amelia nodded.

"Every door has to open somehow," David interrupted, "It's just a matter of _where_ ,"

He made his way to the door, studying it for a few seconds. Tracy and Amelia walked up behind him. It looked like a vault door of some sort.

 _"If only Mia were here,"_ Ekko chuckled, _"She was better with cracking safes and doors than I ever was,"_

"Mia?"

 _"Yeah…she was a good friend. Then, she saw her family get killed in an explosion. She just…never was the same after that. It was just her and her sister but well, her sister got knocked on the head too hard and doesn't remember a thing,"_

"She teach you anything about cracking doors like this?"

 _"Eh…not much. She prided herself on that and kept her secrets, but uh…I know_ some _things…"_

"Like what?" David asked as Tracy reached for the door, keeping a steadying hand on David and Amelia both.

Ekko immediately took control.

"Tracy! NO!" he yelled, "It's electrified!"

But it was too late. Tracy's hand connected with the metal door and pain rocketed through all three Chosens and Champions, sparks flying and the tang of ozone exploding into the air. All three Chosens were thrown across the room from the zap, colliding with the far wall. Darkness crept over each Chosen's vision as their bodies spasmed and sparks arced over them.

The door opened.

Hope soared in their chests…until they saw a figure fill it.

"Trying to escape? So unwise," a male, metallic sounding voice chastised.

"…Ca-leb?" Amelia rasped, trying to stay conscious.

"Unfortunately, Caleb is not here," Viktor stated, "He will not be able to witness this,"

"Wh-what?" Tracy growled, "W-Witness _what_?"

"I believe you know, Ekko," Viktor said, coming closer and kneeling next to said Champion.

The other two Chosens turned to their fellow. Ekko's dark face turned pale as he got it.

"You son of a b-AH!" Ekko shrieked as Viktor grabbed his ruined arm and _squeezed_.

"Watch that language," Viktor stated, releasing Ekko's arm as the other Zaunite fell unconscious, followed by Katarina and Ashe, "I thought Yasuo was bad…"

He started carrying them back to the tables they had escaped from. He'd move them soon enough…once he got everything completely set up. The original six Projects had failed him. They'd been beautifully perfect for a few months, but their humanity overcame that and ruined _everything_. He had to be careful this time…Andrew was already suspicious and he doubted Caleb would condone what he was doing.

Thank _God_ for those powerful medicines Caleb's mother had so _nicely_ given the boy due to his sickness.

He looked at the unconscious Champions/Chosens and nodded. He wouldn't fail. Not this time. These three would surpass the others.

Of _that_ …he was absolutely certain.

 **How Caleb has no idea Viktor is doing this _again_...Caleb is still very sick and hopped up on medicine, so he's out of it for a while. Not to mention that Viktor is careful about what Caleb sees/hears. Which...is going to make things hard for these three. Viktor might just stop in the middle of 'surgery' and leave them for a while when Caleb wakes up. Because, based on what I know of Caleb...he wouldn't condone this _one_ bit and would force Viktor to stop and (hopefully) revert the changes. Then he'd go to Andrew, turn himself in and let the original Projects and Jayce have fun destroying the lab.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	5. Authoress' Note (Please read and help)

**Hey everyone, this is just a note...I'm in a bit of a bind. I don't know who I should ah... 'play' with first. So, I'm gonna do much the same I did with the original Project story. You guys get to pick who goes first, second and third. I've set up a poll on my profile, so go check that out. I will count both review and poll (for you guests reviewing for me). You guys have three days (unless it's overwhelming) I'm going to be gone Saturday through next Tuesday on a choir trip, so writing's gonna be at a minimum for me during that time. Sorry for bugging you all, but I'm kinda stuck.**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	6. Startup Sequence: Ashe

**And Ashe was the winner. I _know_ her skin is the most developed...but you guys wanted this :) I'm going to be out of state for the weekend so I won't be, uh, available to write for a while. **

Chapter 5

Startup Sequence: Ashe

Everything ached. Her head thankfully stopped hurting from her hitting the rock…but still, that had stopped weeks ago. Weeks of torment, of worrying about what Viktor had planned for them...

Ashe's frosty gaze watched carefully as Viktor wandered about the lab. He'd put the three Champions and their Chosens in these large, glass tubes reinforced with what looked like steel and filled them with water. They'd tried breaking out…but, well…Katarina was a prime example of what happened whenever they tried.

The Noxian assassin was still asleep, but her scarlet locks floated around her head like a cloud of blood. However, those scarlet hairs were now streaked with white…making the young woman seem much, much older. Ashe couldn't really see Ekko…but she knew he was still in bad shape.

She saw Viktor give a shudder, and watched as he hurriedly made his way out of the room. She frowned, what was that all about?

 _"…Caleb?"_ Amelia questioned, _"From what I know of Caleb, I don't think he'd allow Viktor to do this to us…or_ anyone _for that matter,"_

Ashe gave a nod and put her hands on the glass, looking at the pruned, ivory skin that looked nearly ghostlike in the water. She'd heard stories of what happened to the last victims Viktor had…she had a bad feeling that the same would be happen to her.

 _"I don't like this Ashe…"_ Amelia murmured softly, " _I…heh, is it alright if I'm a little scared?"_

Ashe let Amelia take control and gave her answer.

 _"I would be more worried if you weren't,"_ she told her.

* * *

Caleb sat down at the worktable, yawning as he grabbed a bit of blueprint paper and kept working on a sketch. A feeling of curiosity rose in his chest and Viktor's voice rang out.

 _"What is that?"_ he asked.

Caleb gave a smile.

"Ah, nothing…just a sketch. I got thinking about if you _asked_ the Projects if they wanted enhanced and they said yes. This was an idea I had if we did a few more," Caleb explained, "Since Soraka and Lissandra's armor is done…and all that's left on Mecha Zero is what Rumble and Heimer have to add…I got bored,"

 _"Any particular reason why this Champion was picked?"_ Viktor asked.

"Partially skills…I figured the arrows could be modified to something else, like cryo-charged plasma," Caleb shrugged, "A hood that'll toggle with a simple relay…most of the stuff is cosmetic, but still. And I thought Amelia and Ashe would like it. Same with David, Ekko, Katarina and Tracy…because I've done stuff for them too,"

He pulled out two more sketches, each depicting a Projectized Champion/Chosen. Caleb gave a frown.

"I've just had the _weirdest_ dreams," he admitted, "I don't know why I decided on these three when there are others that could fit this too…but those three keep showing up in my dream. I dunno, maybe it's just my drug-addled mind…"

 _"These are quite good, Caleb,"_ Viktor said, _"I would very much like to see these put in action. But it also might be the fact that these three are missing and you feel like you should be able to do something to help them,"_

"Heh, you're probably right," Caleb smiled, "If I remember right…that was your 'cover' if someone discovered one of the Projects. You said you built them to honor their memory…"

 _"I have nothing to do with this, Caleb, you would know if I did,"_ Viktor growled.

"True," Caleb nodded, "Sorry, I'm…just a bit on edge. Something doesn't feel right…I don't…"

Sparks spat from one of the workstations and Caleb sighed.

"Again, Zero…" he grumbled, getting up, "The AI's acting up again…"

 _"It does not surprise me,"_ Viktor muttered, _"That was one of my first AIs…it was always temperamental. I originally made it to be the AI for the Project Dawn unit…but it proved unstable. Much too hostile, what was still Leona would have fought against it and it would have ended up in the termination of the Project and of the Champion,"_

"Why Leo?" Caleb asked.

 _"She was the 'leader' of the Overdrive Initiative. She was the least hot-headed, the best armored, and the best strategist out of them all. Fiora, Yi and Yasuo all know how to fight…but the pacifist knew how to strategize. Targonians have a certain 'knack' for warfare. After all…300 of them, including Leona, Diana and Pantheon, decimated a fully trained Noxian army without losing a man. Even Leona knows how to strategize, even though she does not like fighting. Hence why she was the leader…even if she was still a bit of a troublemaker,"_

Caleb shook his head.

"You're still bitter about that, aren't you?" he chuckled.

 _"Very,"_ Viktor huffed, _"I blame Diana for most of it…Leona wouldn't have woken up if her sister hadn't been there…"_

"I will admit, a Project Diana would be pretty cool," Caleb smiled, "But, Cira and Leona would probably run me through…no one touches the little sister if Leona has anything to say about it,"

 _"Indeed,"_

Caleb gave another yawn and his vision started blurring.

"Ugh, I swear, I'm never taking that medicine _again_ …not if it makes me this tired…" he growled, "Viktor, I'm gonna let you get me back home…I can't keep my eyes open,"

 _"Do not worry, Caleb,_ " Viktor said before taking control, "I will make sure everything is fine,"

Caleb's consciousness dimmed to a faint ember as the Earth Child fell asleep. Viktor picked up the blueprint Caleb had made and gave a smile.

"This…I can work with," he grinned.

* * *

Ekko tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his arm. Viktor had seemed annoyed by the fact the Vigilnauts had destroyed it beyond repair. Ekko had grinned and told him that since he was 'ruined' Viktor'd have to let him go…

Yeah, no such luck.

Viktor had taken Ekko into some back room, gave him some form of anesthetic and forcefully removed the ruined arm… _replacing_ it with a metal one instead of putting it into a splint to _try_ and heal it.

Ekko clenched his new appendage's hand, shuddering at the harsh scraping sound as the metal digits scratched against his 'palm'. He'd always promised himself that he'd never get augments…he'd rather lose limbs than become one of those punks that harassed his gang. He gave a harsh kick to the glass walls, impeded by the water and making his kick much weaker…but he was rewarded with a satisfying _thump_ and a now throbbing toe.

Well, at least he had some other pain to focus on rather than his arm…

He looked around, barely seeing the blurry forms of Ashe and Katarina in the container/tube things next to him. Katarina had seen better days. She'd tried to escape, mouthing off to Viktor and biting his hand when he caught her…

He then proceeded to shock the living daylights out of her.

You'd think Katarina would have stopped after the first shock, but _noooo_. Between her and Tracy, they'd been shocked at least ten times. Ekko shuddered…he and David had been shocked a few times too, mostly because they'd mouthed off, but well…

It frigging _hurt_. A _lot_.

He could see the thin, white streaks in Katarina's bright red hair, most likely caused by the stress the lightning had put on her body. How Ashe and Amelia were holding up…he couldn't tell, they were too far away. All he could see was a faint blur of blue and white.

The door opened and Ekko's head snapped up as Viktor came back in, his staff tapping on the concrete floor. He walked over to Ashe's container and pressed some sort of button.

* * *

Amelia's dark eyes widened as the water started to drain, her bare feet touched the cold metal grate at the bottom and she sank to her knees, unused to the weight after being in the tube for a long while. She leaned her forehead on the cool glass…until it started to rise and the Frost Archer collapsed onto the frigid concrete floor. A hand grabbed her and Amelia was yanked up to her feet, swaying unsteadily for a few moments before being forced to go towards the door.

Was he letting her go?

She turned back to the other two, who were watching her in worry.

 _"We'll come back for you,"_ Amelia mouthed, promising and catching a thin ray of hope for the others.

Viktor guided her out of the room. Amelia could see what looked to be the exit…she could see windows streaming the cold, grey light from the outside. She leaned towards it, hope soaring in her chest…

Until she was dragged away from the door, going deeper into the lab.

"I thought you were…" she started.

"I told you, I have plans for you three," Viktor said coldly as he forced her into the room, "I'm not giving you up anytime soon,"

Amelia's jaw set and she whirled around, grabbing Viktor's shoulders and shaking him hard.

"CALEB! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! _WAKE UP_!" she yelled, "DON'T LET HIM DO THIS! CALEB!"

Viktor's clawed servo grabbed Amelia by the wrist and hurled her off of him, sending her into a glass cabinet with a sickening cracking sound. She cried out as the glass shattered and rained down over her, slicing her skin and sending scarlet raining down over the concrete.

Ashe took control of herself and staggered up to her feet, biting her lip hard as her bare feet crunched down on the shattered glass, cutting the soles. Frost spread in a white blanket in a circle around her feet, the temperature dropped dramatically and Ashe put her hands up in a defensive motion, daring Viktor to come at her.

Viktor looked almost amused as the palm of his servo arm glowed yellow and shot a sickly yellow beam at the archer. The Freljordian leaped out of the way, skidding on the blood, frost and glass strewn floor and hitting another wall.

Ashe saw how close she was to the door and bolted towards it, eyes wild and almost feral. She had just stepped over the threshold when a violet light flared about her, dragging her a few paces back. Ashe gave a shocked cry and tried to struggle…only to find she was unable to move.

"Honestly, Ashe, Amelia, did you really think that escaping would be that easy? Granted, I do not have help like I did last time, but, I can keep you here for a good long while…or have you forgotten my abilities?" Viktor asked, coming forwards.

Ashe hit the ground, shivering, the loss of blood was starting to take its toll. She turned her icy-blue gaze up to Viktor once more.

"Caleb," she tried, "Please…I know you wouldn't let him do this…you have to take control and stop him…"

Viktor gave a chilling laugh, grinning behind his mask.

"Caleb is far too out of it to do anything," he told her, "No one is going to save you,"

With that, he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to a table.

"Oh, believe me…there will be moments where I have to step away…Caleb has a habit of becoming conscious at the worst of times," he explained, strapping Ashe down to the metal slab, "More of an annoyance to me…but excruciatingly painful for you,"

Ashe's heart hammered in her throat as Viktor turned around and picked up something…a familiar, curved something that radiated cold.

"It is a beautiful weapon," he told her, holding Avarosa's bow, "True Ice…completely unmeltable, no matter what fire you put it in. But, like all ice…"

He gripped the bow in both hands.

"It _breaks_ ,"

And he snapped it in two.

Ashe shrieked in rage and despair. The one artifact that belonged to her Ancestress…destroyed.

"Now, now, don't fret," he scoffed, breaking the bow again and again and getting Ashe's yells of outrage and some cursing from Amelia, "You'll be getting it back…"

He dumped the pieces into a metal box that was already starting to frost over.

"But you have other things you need to worry about,"

He picked up a scalpel and smiled.

"Now…where to begin,"

* * *

Days…it had been _days_ since he started on Ashe and she was nearly complete. Snowy white and cobalt blue armor coated her thin frame. Caleb's design come to life. He almost wished Caleb was here to see it…even though Caleb morally would have been horrified. Ashe had passed out from pain long ago…her metabolism burning through the anesthetic within hours. Viktor had finally given up on it and continued working, being forced to restrain her head as she thrashed…

The first time, she'd thrashed, Viktor had been working around her face. He'd accidently stabbed the scalpel into her left eye, making her scream and thrash even _more_. The scream had woken up Caleb and Viktor had barely managed to get away in time before Caleb became conscious. Caleb had been a bit wary…but Viktor managed to get him calmed and reassured enough to go back to sleep…it _was_ late after all.

The problem now was that the Freljordian was now blind in her left eye. Viktor _meant_ to leave her eyes, since they were incredibly good without enhancement. But, as a result of what happened…he had no choice but to take the other one too…to compensate. He only had enough to turn one eye though.

Unfortunately, neither Ashe, nor Amelia were going to let him get near her face. And she burned through the anesthetic so _fast_ …it would be almost impossible to break her enough. He frowned…this had happened before, years ago, but still. Lucian was also _very_ hard to break mentally, but he did when reliving his nightmares. Back then, Viktor had run out of that drug…but that was because he wasn't back in Zaun, where he could get that with ease. He walked back into the room and walked to a workstation, feeling the terrified gaze of Amelia and Ashe both on the back of his skull.

"Stop that," Viktor told her, "Your fear is irrational in a way. You know this is going to happen to you, so it is best if you just let it go,"

He heard the faint sound of metal clanking against metal and he turned to see Amelia trying to free herself once more.

"You're only going to hurt yourself even more," he sighed, "Makes my job easier…but you won't enjoy it much,"

Amelia stopped for a second before going again.

"Being a carry, you _are_ fairly fragile," Viktor stated as Amelia whimpered on the table, still trying to get free, "But I will say, your mind is strong,"

Amelia shuddered, her still human heart pounded in her chest, terribly loud in the space. Viktor filled a syringe with a yellow liquid. He came towards her and Amelia started thrashing, her working eye wild and scared.

"No…" she begged, "Please!"

Viktor grabbed her arm.

"Years ago, I had the same predicament…I used this to calm him down long enough to snap his mind," he told her, "Now…"

He dug the needle into the fair, pale skin of the Freljordian Queen, pressing the plunger down.

"I believe the same will work for you,"

Amelia spat in in his face, her dark right eye spitting sparks…right as darkness dragged her down into the depths.

* * *

Ashe opened her eyes, gasping for breath as she saw the familiar hide roof of a Freljordian tent. She hadn't been inside one in _years_. She reached up to touch her face, feeling that both eyes were still there. She gave a shuddering sigh of relief…right as the door flap fluttered open and a tall, slender woman with ice-blue eyes and long blonde hair walked in. She gave a warm smile and knelt down next to Ashe, the latter's mouth open in shock.

"Keep your mouth open like that and it'll freeze that way, Ashe," the woman chuckled.

"M-Mother?" Ashe whispered, tears falling down her face.

"Did you have another nightmare?" her mother asked, "I swear, if Magni keeps giving you those sweet treats right before bed I'm going to put an arrow between his eyes,"

"Mother!" Ashe cried, flinging herself towards the older woman, hugging her tightly, "You're alive…"

"Of course I am!" her mother snorted, "Ashe, honestly, those were just nightmares…they weren't real,"

She kissed her daughter's head gently.

"You keep dreaming and you're going to end up with nightmares," she told her, helping her daughter to her feet, "Come, the raid is about to start. The Winter's Claw has been stealing from our herds…it's time to repay the favor. They'll fear us, we'll make sure they never steal from us again,"

"Don't go…" Ashe pleaded, "I'll go in your place, just…stay here,"

"I'm the leader of the tribe, Ashe, I have to go," her mother told her, "Since your father passed away, leadership of this clan belongs to me…and one day, you,"

She picked up a bow carved from wood and handed it to her daughter while she herself picked up a much bigger one.

"The others are restless…it's…"

Cries of alarm rose from the outside and the two women ran out into the frigid night, just to see fire blazing up from countless tents, the snow whirling around and spreading the flames. Raiders pillaged the people, killing many. Ashe's mother raised her bow and fired a few shots, anger set on her beautiful face…until a spear flew through the air and thudded into her heart. Ashe shrieked in panic, catching her mother while her mother's blood soaked the snow. She glared up at the night sky and screamed as the flames painted the snow amber and scarlet…

No…it was raining…the drops of silver hitting the ground as they rushed by in the car. Amelia smiled, snuggling up against the heater with her blanket. She could see her mother and father chatting away in the front seat as the light turned green. They started to go…right as a loud screech, a bone-rattling boom and screams filled the air. She felt like she was flying and she hit the wet grass with a thud. She looked up just to see the mangled remains of her parents' car, her mother's bloodied hand sticking out from the window. Amelia struggled to her feet and slowly walked towards the car.

"Mommy? Daddy?" she whispered…right as an explosion threw her off her feet.

She hit the ground again, crying as the flames licked up towards the grey sky…and she screamed.

* * *

Katarina kicked at the glass again, annoyed by the wait. They hadn't seen or heard from Viktor or Ashe in days. Maybe Ashe _did_ escape…but if that was the case…why didn't she come back with Summoners or _someone_ who could help? The Noxian Assassin gave a muffled growl as she crossed her arms. This was stupid.

The sound of a door opening caught her attention and she looked up…just to see a Viktor and a few Vigilnauts. But, it was what the Vigilnauts were carrying that made her heart sink.

It was a woman. Completely covered in snowy white and cobalt blue armor. Katarina could hear her faint moaning and she lifted her head…

 _"What is it?"_ Tracy asked.

Katarina's blood went cold as she recognized the woman, she gave control to her Chosen to let her see.

 _"…It's Ashe and Amelia,"_ Katarina whispered, _"Oh God…what is he doing…"_

Tracy watched as the Frost Archer was put in the container and it was filled with water again. She heard David tap the container, trying to get her attention to see what was going on…

Right as Viktor pressed a button and lightning blazed throughout the container. Ashe, Amelia…Tracy couldn't tell who was in control…all she knew was that that scream…it couldn't be human. It _wasn't_ human. The shrieking intensified and Tracy and David both put their hands over their ears, squeezing their eyes shut…

And then it stopped.

Tracy slowly opened an eye and looked at the other container, seeing the Frost Archer on her knees… _glowing_ with an intense icy blue color. The glass rose and she fell out, collapsing on the concrete floor, lightning still sparking along her frame.

"Get up," she heard Viktor order…and to Tracy's shock, she did.

Tracy shuddered as she saw the bone-white 'skin' and hair…Ashe's hair used to be a really pale blonde color, so pale it was just off white. Now…you could definitely see a difference in the color. Ashe, or what used to be Ashe, turned to face Tracy, as if sensing her stare. Tracy gave an involuntary gasp as the glowing, emotionless gaze locked in on her. Only one 'eye'…the other covered in a patch of smooth black metal.

 _"What…did he_ do _to them?!"_ Katarina gasped.

"Go back," Viktor ordered the blue creature before looking at the other two Chosens, "I take it you do not care much for Project Frost? Ah, what does it matter…you will…soon enough,"

 _"A_ Project _…"_ Katarina demanded, _"You mean like what he did to Leona, Yasuo, Yi, Fiora, Lucian and Zed?! NO! Tracy, we_ can't _let him do this to us! We_ have _to escape!"_

Tracy gave back control.

 _"I know,"_ Tracy murmured as the glass slid over this 'Project Frost', _"But, we've got to be patient…we've been shocked too much for trying to. And we can't get out of this container. If he takes us…then we can attempt. Maybe get David out too…because he and Ekko know Zaun like the backs of their hands. We'd get lost,"_

Katarina shuddered as she looked at the Project…who just stared straight ahead.

Whatever happened…she wasn't going without a _fight_.

 **Since I'm gonna be outta town and unable to write...I want to know who you guys want next. Kat or Ekko? The poll is still up, but now only has Kat and Ekko as Choices.**

 **Also, the whole thing of Leo being the Overdrive Leader is actually pretty legitimate if you think about it. Ashe's taunts to an allied/enemy Project Leona is proof. Ally: "If anything happens to me, it's up to you to finish this", "You inspire us all". Enemy: "You were the best of us...once," So yeah. My headcanon, Leona was the original leader...but was replaced by Ashe (you guys are gonna see how _that_ goes over...here's a hint: NOT WELL!)**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	7. Startup Sequence: Katarina

**Hello everyone, I'm back from Chicago! I wrote this basically on the trip to and trip from so I'm pretty happy. You guys voted and Kat was the winner (you _do_ realize this means Ekko's gonna have the worst time, right?) ANYWAY! I had a little fun with this. I hope you all enjoy it!**

Chapter 6

Startup Sequence: Katarina

 _"I really don't like the way she, it, whatever, stands…it's too still…"_ Tracy shuddered.

Katarina agreed. Whatever was in the container, standing in silent sentinel, wasn't human…it was just a mindless machine waiting for orders.

 _"What did he do with her eye?"_ Tracy questioned, _"Kat…what if he takes it from us too…"_

Katarina gave a shudder and turned to look at Ekko, who currently was curled up in a ball, sleeping with his head on his knees. Viktor had drained Ekko's container after his grafted arm started showing signs of infection, he'd brought the boy back after a few hours of taking him to his lab. A mixture of white and slate blue armor covered the prosthetic arm as well as places on his legs and his abdomen. The boy was in a lot of pain…and it seemed that sleep was the only way to alleviate it.

The Noxian shook her head.

She'd faced against Ekko so many times…it was hard to believe that he was among the youngest Champions…not even a man yet. Yet, seeing him curled in on himself like this…he looked every bit a child. Katarina's eyes narrowed in anger…this wasn't the first time Viktor had done this to a child. If she remembered right…Leona was only 17 when she was taken, all sickeningly sweet, genuine smiles and an innocent nature that often made Katarina want to shake her…but, that's just how Leona was. After the incident…the Support had become a little less trusting, a bit more guarded and distant. The pure, happy joy that often lit up in Leona's eyes had disappeared, replaced with shame. Katarina never really understood why…but it didn't come back until Cira came into the picture. That was the best part of having a Chosen…you weren't alone anymore. You'd always have someone to talk to, someone who understood you like no one else could.

A soft cry caught her attention and Katarina looked towards Ekko, who was starting to seize, shaking and trembling as he curled in even farther on himself. She kicked the container, getting a low thudding sound. As much as she hated to show emotion…Ekko was her only hope of getting home. If one of them could escape, they'd free the other and they'd get _out_ of Zaun…or at least somewhere where Viktor couldn't get them.

Ekko gave a harsh, hoarse screech and jolted awake, his frightened gaze darting around just to see he was _still_ stuck in the lab.

"Heh…guess it was too much to hope for a nightmare…eh Kat?" he muttered, putting his head back on his arms.

Katarina didn't reply, just looked around.

 _"What happened to Amelia then…?"_ Tracy asked quietly, _"Normally, you can sense the Chosen when a Champion looks at you…but…"_

She shifted uncomfortably.

 _"I can't sense Amelia,"_ came the soft whisper, _"Kat…what'll happen to me when he comes for us?"_

Katarina put a hand on her chest, feeling the slight echoing of her heartbeat…and the slightly faster one of Tracy, almost reassuring her before giving Tracy control.

 _"I don't know, Tracy,"_ she said, _"But, if I have anything to say about it…I'm not letting him do anything to us without a fight. You thought I had an impressive scar…that's nothing compared to what we're going to do to_ him _,"_

Tracy gave a faint, watery smile. She wasn't sure exactly…but still…it scared her. She heard the door open and she could see David, not Ekko, push himself against the far side of the glass. She tensed, doing much the same as Viktor stopped between the two, tapping his staff against the floor before reaching out and pressing the button on Tracy's container.

The Chosen's green eyes flashed and she trembled slightly.

 _"It's time,"_ Katarina told her, taking control and looking defiantly at Viktor as the water level started to drain.

Her feet touched the cold steel grate and the glass started to rise, dripping water down the side as Katarina's legs wobbled and she pitched forwards. Viktor grabbed her and started taking her away…only for Katarina to grab Viktor's staff in a swift move and rip it from his head, slamming the metal rod on his head as hard as she could and forcing him to fall over, unconscious.

"Sorry Caleb," she deadpanned, "But we're leaving,"

She went over to Ekko's container and smashed the button, sending sparks flaying as the glass rose and Ekko climbed out, slipping on the floor while his metal leg skidded on the concrete.

"Learning to walk is gonna be a _pain_ ," Ekko groaned as Katarina wrapped his arm over her shoulder and started out, giving a vicious kick to Viktor's head as she and Ekko went by.

"Sorry, Ashe, Amelia…if you're in there…" Katarina started, looking at the glowing, blue Project who watched them silently, "But you'd want us to leave,"

The door slid open and the two limped out.

"We'll get to the surface," Katarina grunted as Ekko's footing slipped again, "Get to Piltover…see if one of those stuck up brats can transport us to the Institute…"

Ekko rolled his eyes.

"Zaun's good too…" he growled.

"Yeah, but a lot of those Champions I wouldn't trust farther than I could throw them," Katarina growled as they actually _left_ the lab and entered the streets of Zaun.

* * *

Caleb groaned as he reached for his staff.

"Viktor?" he murmured, "Ugh, what happened? I feel like I got hit in the head with a piece of rebar…"

He struggled to get his feet, leaning against a workstation as he tried to orient himself.

 _"Caleb…"_ Viktor grumbled, _"I was working on a Vigilnaut schematic Singed wanted me to try…two escaped. One hit us in the head…"_

"That explains it," Caleb huffed, rubbing his head again, "What'll we do?"

 _"That button on the consol there…it'll release the finished one,"_ Viktor told him, _"Press it…I know what we are looking for, so I will give the instructions, alright?"_

"Sounds good…" Caleb nodded, pressing the button as the sound of steam and gears turning caught his attention.

He looked up right as Viktor took control…and the room filled with a cool blue light. But, he couldn't see what it was…it looked a bit slender for a Vigilnaut, more… _human_ …

"Frost, find them and bring them back," Viktor ordered.

The blue glow surged suddenly before darting away, silent as a shadow save for a faint tapping sound as metal shod feet connected with the concrete floor.

 _"Viktor…what was…_ " Caleb started.

"One of my finished Projects," Viktor told him.

 _"Small for a Vigilnaut, Viktor…"_ Caleb growled, _"Viktor! Did you do it again!? WAS THAT A CHAMPION!?"_

"It was a Project of mine, nothing more," Viktor replied, "The smaller size is due to being a female before the augments. I wanted to try something different rather than the typical male template. Something small, fast, and accurate. The first of a line of ranged units. I wanted her to be more visible, hence the blue coloring. She will run distraction while the other units come in from behind and take the target out. It is not a Project like Leona or Yasuo,"

Caleb wasn't convinced…something nagged at him to press…but he knew from experience that when Viktor got annoyed, he tended to clam up and not say anything no matter how hard you pressed.

 _"I'm not letting this go…"_ Caleb growled.

"I would not doubt that," Viktor sighed, rubbing his head where Katarina had kicked him, "But I am being honest,"

* * *

"How far from Piltover?" Katarina asked.

"Not far," Ekko told her, pointing up, "Well…about a mile up. After all…Zaun kinda sank into the ground…"

She glared at him and Ekko chuckled.

"Nah, should be a shuttle around here…somewhere. We just need to be careful. I don't have my Z-Drive or my bat…and you don't have your knives, so if we get caught by a chempunk gang, we're kinda screwed a bit,"

"You honestly think I need _knives_ to survive," Katarina snorted, "That's sad,"

Ekko rolled his eyes.

"I'm just sayin'," he grumbled, "I…"

There was a burst of intense cold that brushed by Ekko's cheek and the Boy Who Shattered Time yelped, jumping back and clapping his hand to his face. His hand came away scarlet as a thin gash cut through his dark skin.

"Uh…Kat?" Ekko asked.

Katarina stared at the wound, frowning.

"That looks like an arrow…" she whispered, "But what Zaunite has arrows?!"

"Um…I don't think it is…" Ekko blinked, pointing a shaky hand behind Katarina.

Katarina turned around just to freeze as a cold, blue glow filled the darkened square, frost spread in a cold, white blanket before the approaching figure who held a bow a chilling white metal in its hand.

It's hood was up, the gleam of a blue visor shining underneath the navy cloth that faded to a glowing, ethereal material.

"Subject: Time and Subject: Blade. You both are violating protocol," came the heavily metallic-edged, Freljordian accent that belonged to Ashe and Amelia both, "You _will_ come with me,"

"It can speak," Katarina blinked as Ekko's leg gave out again, spitting sparks.

"I am capable of speech," the Project stated, "But that is irrelevant. You are to come with me by any means necessary,"

"And if we don't want to?" David snarled, getting back to his feet.

"Then I shall be forced to used unsavory means to bring you back to the Creator,"

"Creator!? You mean _kidnapper_!" David yelled, "You can tell that stuck up _robot_ that he can take that staff of his and shove it where the sun don't shine!"

He gave a grin.

"And besides…you're in _my_ turf," Ekko smirked, "You gotta _find_ me if I run!"

He looked towards Katarina and motioned for her to leave.

"Two down, left then stairs," he told her, "Fastest way to there…just don't follow the _wrong_ way…"

Katarina gave an understanding. Two _up_ , _right_ and then stairs. Ekko gave a grin and bolted.

"COME GET ME FREAK!" he crowed, dashing away while Katarina ran the opposite way.

Project Frost's cloak flickered and a drone detached from her back.

"AVAROSA companion drone. Command: Follow Subject Blade," she ordered and the drone flew off, following Katarina while Frost went after Ekko.

* * *

Katarina was not having a good day. Right as she reached the stairs that would lead her to the Piltover coach, she found out she had been followed…by a _drone_. It had to be the Project's…there was no other explanation. So, she decided to try and lose it. Unfortunately, that led her _right_ to the Project, who was waiting with a swift smack to the head with her metal bow, knocking Katarina out.

When she woke up, she found herself strapped to a table…in the lab _again_. Viktor didn't look pleased at _all_ , he still had a nasty dent in his head where Katarina had smacked him with his own staff and then kicked him for good measure.

"Aw, what's the matter, Viktor?" she sneered, "got a widdle bump on your widdle head?"

Her eyes flared a dimmer shade of green and Tracy smirked.

"Want me to give you a little _kiss_ …" she cooed.

"Oh, _believe_ me, I want to make this as _painful_ as possible for you," Viktor growled, "I haven't had that much trouble since Leona…but, I believe your screams might wake Caleb up…and I _just_ managed to get him to go back to sleep. He's starting to get suspicious so I need to step this up a bit,"

He gave a low chuckle and nodded to Katarina.

"I have everything done on you two…except _one_ thing," he stated.

Tracy frowned and looked at herself, seeing the snowy white and silver armor that coated her frame, her now metal arms that scraped their digits across the metal table with a grating screech, the dull, dark pinkish red circuits that didn't even glow.

She looked up at him, glaring.

"You think this _scares_ me?" she snapped, "I don't care! Do what you want…Kat and I've been trained to endure torture. We're not gonna break like some poor little Carry,"

"No, you assassin types tend to be a bit harder…" Viktor hummed, "So I have to resort to other means,"

He brought out a small speaker and held it up.

"What's that supposed to be? Your mixtape?" Tracy snarked, "Trust me…it ain't goin' to win any Grammy's anytime soon,"

Viktor glared at the Chosen before simply pressing a button. An ear-piercing shriek of pain rang through the speakers, high-pitched and feminine.

 _"TRACY! KATARINA! HELP! IT HURTS!"_ the speaker rang out, making Tracy's face turn white under the darkened visor.

"…Kate?" she whispered.

 _"Cass…"_ Katarina stammered, _"Wha…no…no, Cass would turn him to stone if he…"_

He pressed the button and a male voice screamed out, agonized and in pain.

 _"TRACE!"_ Tommy's and Talon's voices howled, _"KAT! MAKE IT STOP!"_

"You're lying…" Katarina snarled, "You don't have them! The League would…"

The button was pressed again and another male voice shrieked through the speaker. Slightly higher than Talon's, but regal in bearing with a faint English or some sort of European accent.

Katarina's face went bloodless.

"You won't hurt him…" she whispered, before her lovely face twisted in an ugly snarl, "YOU SICK MONSTER! YOU WON'T HURT HIM! YOU WON'T HURT THEM! I'LL KILL YOU! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE LEAGUE KILLING ME! I WILL _END YOU_!"

Viktor gave quite the evil grin under his mask and calmly stepped up to the frantic and furious Assassin and her Chosen, clamping some tiny machine to her arm and making Katarina immediately go limp as power was leeched out of her.

"That went about as well as expected," he smiled, taking the small AI chip in his hand and inserting it under Katarina's scarlet hair into a port on her neck, "The AI will set perfectly. Who knew that a simple voice editing software would make a normal conversation turn into screams of pain and panic? Now…time to finish,"

* * *

Ekko was still nursing the myriad cuts and scrapes on his person…as well as the growing bump on his head where the Project had knocked him on the head. She was still standing perfectly still…she had that same slightly regal bearing that Ashe always had…but it was more uncanny because Ashe and Amelia were gone…there was just Frost.

Katarina hadn't returned…he figured that Viktor had taken her and was turning her as well. Soon, he'd be the only one with his human spirit…well…and his Chosen.

 _"I don't like it, Ekko…"_ David muttered, _"We almost had it…how'd she find us so fast?"_

Ekko gave back control to David and voiced his reply.

 _"Maybe we've got a tracer on us,"_ he reasoned, _"Wouldn't surprise me if these armor pieces have serial codes or somethin' that lets Viktor find us. It just makes escaping_ hard _. We can probably do it…we just gotta be fast. The problem is that I can't use my leg very well. I'm not used to it and I don't think the Robot's gonna let me do that,"_

David gave a nod as the door opened and Viktor dragged in Katarina…who was, as he and Ekko figured, changed. The only difference was that the circuits weren't lit. So Tracy and Katarina were still alive. At least…for a few more moments.

He watched as the Assassin was thrown into the tube, water filling it up as she started to stir. Tracy looked at David and banged her fist on the tube…right as lightning blazed through the air. David jammed his fists into his ears and tried to shut Tracy's shrieks out. He could see her bones through her armor…see her thrashing as her scarlet hair turned a bone white.

The water dried and what used to be Katarina and Tracy collapsed to the ground as the glass rose. Viktor gave the order to stand and the new Project did. He gave her a pink bladed knife that glowed faintly and she hurled it at something on the floor. Ekko's heart leapt into his throat as he realized that it was a mouse that she had perfectly decapitated in a single throw.

Seemingly satisfied, Viktor ordered the new Project to go back into the container. The pink Project stood with that slightly arrogant way Katarina and Tracy always had, hip cocked out slightly and her head lightly lolled to the side. Ekko shuddered as Viktor left.

There was no doubt about it…he was next.

There was no escape for the Boy Who Shattered Time.

 **So, anyone recognize the torture tactic? I had one of my friends help me out, but uh...this is nothing compared to what I have planned for Ekko...poor boy... *evil grin* anyways, Caleb's suspicious, Kat's been turned and Ekko knows he's next. But what's Viktor got planned for him? Heh, you'll just have to see!**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	8. Startup Sequence: Ekko

**Last Project, guys! You guys wanted Ashe and Kat to go first...now it's Ekko's turn. I will admit...this one's a bit dark. Short, but dark. Then again, I _did_ rate it M...anyways, there's some lore stuff here that's kinda hidden deep down...I _know_ Viktor's lore got changed a bit and here's my answer to that. 'New Lore Viktor' is basically Caleb or rather Caleb's influence. Old lore Viktor is what made the Projects, all o' them. Old lore Viktor also had a bit of a temper...as you guys are gonna see here. Also, um, the lore states that 'Ekko' is not Ekko's real name, just what people call him. So, I made up one because I seriously doubt that his parents call him Ekko...especially if he's in trouble. Ekko's real name has a connection to his Chosen though, you'll have to do some research for it (and let me know if you find it! I seriously want to hear from you all!)**

Chapter 7

Startup Sequence: Ekko

Ekko sat with his back against the glass, looking at what used to be his fellow Champions and their Chosens. Both of the Projects stood completely still, staring straight ahead, the dim room filled with pink and azure light.

"It's like a baby shower in Zaun," Ekko deadpanned dryly.

 _"You actually went to those?"_ David asked.

"I was forced to by my mom," he muttered, "But y'know what? I'd rather be there than here…"

He lightly kicked the glass container with his metal leg, getting a nice clanging sound.

"I'd rather be _anywhere_ but here…"

He leaned his head against the glass and closed his eyes…all he wanted to do was sleep…let _go_ …

* * *

Viktor had just gotten back from a match when he heard the alarms shriek. Unsettled, the Machine Herald came into the room where the Projects and Ekko were being held…just to see Ekko slumped over, the heart monitor keeping track of his vitals beginning to flatline.

Whatever blood that was left in Viktor's body froze and he dashed towards his last subject. He couldn't die…not when Viktor was _so_ close…

* * *

 ** _"Rise and shine, Timebug…"_** a warm female voice called.

"Not now, ma, five more minutes…" Ekko murmured, "Please…"

 ** _"Please open your eyes,"_** the voice whispered again, **_"You've been out too late again haven't you?"_**

"Mom…"

 ** _"I know I promised I'd let you sleep in on your name day, dear, but you've got to open those pretty eyes of yours…"_**

"I'm tired Ma…" he whispered, "Please, let me sleep…I just want to sleep…"

 ** _"David, don't let him sleep!"_** a slightly different female voice started.

 _"Ma?!"_ David cried, _"MA! EKKO! WAKE UP! MA'S HERE!"_

"David, shush, I'm trying to sleep…"

 ** _"_ DAVID _!"_**

 ** _"_ JONATHAN _!"_**

A hand grabbed him and Ekko sighed, cracking open an eye…only to see Viktor's metal gloved hand on his shoulder.

"Ugh, _you_ ," Ekko grumbled, smacking at Viktor's hand, "I just want to sleep. Go pick on someone else. Figures, my nameday and it's _ruined_ because I'm staying in this dump…"

"Flatline on me again," Viktor growled, "You're a troublemaker, but I would rather have all my Projects stable,"

"Oh, that's why you want me alive?" Ekko sneered, "Wow, and here it was because I thought you recognized my genius. Guess I beat you up in the Mid Lane one too many times, huh?"

The glare he received would have incinerated him. Ekko gave a wry grin and grunted as he shifted position, trying to ease the pain he was in.

"What's the matter, Robot? Did I hurt your non-existent feelings?" David grinned savagely, "Oh yeah, that's right. You hate being reminded you're still human. That why you turned them into your little pets? Why you're going to do the same to Ekko and me?"

Viktor said nothing, just got up and walked away.

David huffed, looking away from the retreating figure. The situation was still skewed heavily in Viktor's favor. But, at least in David's mind…Caleb had quite the influence.

"Caleb's in there somewhere," David said.

 _"What makes you say that?"_

"Viktor came to make sure we were still alive," David pointed out, "He made sure our arm wasn't infected any farther. Caleb's in there, Ekko…we just got to try and get him to wake up. I think it might be too late for Ashe, Amelia, Kat and Tracy…but we've still got a chance,"

 _"I hope you're right,"_ Ekko said, _"I'd like to forget all about this…"_

"You and me both,"

* * *

Viktor picked up the cylindrical Z-Drive, turning it over with skilled hands as he examined it.

"Attitude aside…" Viktor muttered, "The boy is extremely gifted. It is a wonder why he has not joined the Academy in Piltover. He would have a much better life there…"

He delicately poked the machine and shades of the past flickered to life. He could see a ghostly blue shadow of the boy meeting David for the first time, Choosing him and joining with him. He saw him sitting at a roughly hewn table, practicing to himself the speech he was going to give to his parents that he was staying in Zaun…only to completely abandon it when they came home. He saw Ekko rushing through Zaun, panic on his face as he made it to a crumpled little figure in the alleyway and shrieked to high heaven in despair. He saw the boy's ghostly shade at a much younger age picking his way through the ruins of an achingly familiar lab, dodging Vigilnauts and picking up pieces of scrap metal…until he came across a glowing fragment of crystal.

Viktor's shock grew as the boy picked up the shard curiously and started hunting for more…finding enough to create a crystal about the size of his fist.

"You… _stole_ that…" Viktor whispered before anger flared through him, "You _stole that from me!"_

Immediately, he threw the Z-Drive back on the table and stormed into the holding room, where Ekko slept fitfully against the glass.

"THEIF!" he yelled, jolting the boy awake with a series of lightning bolts.

Ekko shrieked as he twitched, muscles refusing to respond as he weakly looked up.

"W-what?" he croaked as the glass lifted and Viktor grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him up and shaking him hard.

"You _stole_ that crystal from me!"

"I _found_ it in a building that blew up!" Ekko yelled back, "I didn't steal anything!"

He was then thrown to the other side of the room, colliding with some machine panels that sparked and hissed as Ekko's thin back struck them, sending sparks raining down on his dark skin, scorching it. He painfully groaned as he struggled to get up, only for his metal leg to give out again, skidding on the concrete. Viktor grabbed the young Zaunite by his wild white hair, no longer in its characteristic Mohawk, but lying limply to the side, and dragged him off.

"You stole from me…I think I should repay that," Viktor snapped.

Ekko tried to fight… _tried_. But in his weakened state, it was nigh-on impossible. He was thrown onto the cold metal slab and strapped down. He watched as Viktor brought out the Z-Drive from the workbench and held it in his hands.

"You're quite the genius," he growled, "But if there's one thing you need to learn, it's stealing others' technology is _forbidden_ amongst inventors. We all learned the hard way…and now it's your turn,"

He brought his staff down _hard_ on Ekko's still human leg, snapping the bone like a toothpick. Ekko shrieked as his back arched off the table and Viktor brought the staff down again, this time on the still human arm, breaking it.

"Now, how does this work…" Viktor muttered, tapping the Z-Drive, "Ah, here we go…"

.

.

.

The pain was gone, Ekko blinked rapidly as time had rewound. He'd done it so many times that he was completely aware of when the timeline was messed with. He could _feel_ the smugness radiating from Viktor.

"Well, that was amusing…" he grinned, raising his staff again, "Don't you think?"

Ekko flinched and Viktor gave quite the evil laugh.

"Oh, no. I am not going to be _that_ predictable," Viktor stated, taking what looked like a drill and putting it through Ekko's metallic limbs, getting another shriek from the boy, "After all…I've got all the time in the world,"

Ekko's face was beaded with sweat and he was breathing hard, his eyes rolled up for a split second before David took control, fury blazing from his dark eyes.

"Stop it Viktor," came the cold, calm growl, "You don't know what you're dealing with,"

"On the contrary…" Viktor said, activating the Z-Drive again and rewinding all the injuries so that they never happened, "I believe I _do_. Your Champion stole what was rightfully mine. I and merely doing what anyone would do should something have been stolen from them. The only difference?"

He jabbed a scalpel into David's shoulder, dragging it around and making David shriek before rewinding the damage.

"I get to do it over and _over_ again!"

* * *

Broken.

The spirit of the Zaunite boy and his Chosen had been broken. Shattered really. Viktor _enjoyed_ paying the little brat back everything he deserved. Ekko lay on the table, still trembling and shaking even though he had passed out long, _long_ ago. Slate blue and snowy white armor coated his frame while pine green circuits threaded through the plates and the signature Project Triangle. The dark skin on his face carried reminders that metal plating lay underneath, faint outlines of where the plates met and where bolts lie. The same went for the other two…but Viktor was quite satisfied.

He knew Caleb wouldn't have been, so he had to act fast. Day was approaching and Caleb would be waking soon. The best thing about his Chosen, at least at the moment, was when he was out…he was _out_.

Viktor grabbed his fellow Champion and dragged him back to the holding area where Projects Frost and Blade stood in silent sentinel. He pushed the boy roughly into his 'cell' and flooded it. Ekko's visor flickered slightly as he stirred from the onslaught of water. He shook his head and looked up…just to see the dimly lit visor staring back at him.

"…No…" came the staticky whisper, more machine than man.

And Viktor turned on the lightning, shocking the last of this new Initiative. Ekko shrieked to high heavens, circuits blazing between dark and vibrant emerald green. When the water was gone, what used to be known as Ekko or David Allen lay on the cold steel grate, circuits flickering and sputtering slightly before settling on a firm emerald green. The glass rose and Viktor stepped up, planting his staff on the concrete floor.

"Get up," he ordered and the new Project did, "What is your name,"

"…"

"I order you to speak," Viktor snapped.

"I have no name," the Project stated, "A name is a human concept. I am Project. Codename: Time,"

Viktor gave Project Time the order to return and the glass slid down over the youngest Project.

"The Overdrive Initiative was a failure," Viktor stated to himself as he walked out the room and went to the workbench, putting finishing touches on the newly improved Z-Drive and the bat that Ekko had been so fond of, "But I think I have done it this time…with the Disruption Initiative,"

 **I figured that Viktor would be _ticked_ if he found out that someone stole his tech. Particularly the crystal that he and Jayce fought over. So he got some revenge and also broke Ekko and David by it. I also figured that Caleb would have some influence on Viktor...hence Viktor making sure that Ekko wasn't going to die on him. Ekko's real name is Jonathan, but like I said...only his parents call him that. And _yes_ , he got turned on his birthday. Great present huh?**

 **Next time, we go back to the Institute. Andrew's gotten fed up with no one listening to him and called in the big guns...mainly, a certain Chosen and her Champion.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	9. Archived Data

**Two in one day! Actually...I had most of this one typed to be honest. No one wanted to take a stab at how Ekko's real name is connected with David? *sigh* alright, I'll tell ya...David and Jonathan were best friends at an almost soul level. They were so close they considered each other brothers. Jonathan was the King's son and David was a shepherd boy...who eventually became king over the kingdom Jonathan's father ruled. Jonathan was killed in battle and David, instead of killing Jonathan's crippled son (and last of his bloodline) took the boy as his own. These two are what friendships _should_ be. Anyways...we go and see what's up with the Institute and we get to see some of the Overdrive Projects.**

Chapter 8

Archived Data

 _The glass barrier went down and Lucian dashed out, tackling Viktor only to get kicked into the front of Zed's container._

 _Suddenly, there was a horrible screeching sound and Lucian jumped as scarlet flashed in his vision. He whirled around just to see that creature that used to be Zed's glowing blades scraping along the glass with an ear-shattering squeal. He was trying to get out…not to help Lucian…_

 _But to seriously hurt, if not kill, him._

 _The Master of Shadows scrabbled at the glass as he deactivated his blades, his servos making thick gashes on the glass. Lucian froze in slight terror, I'd known Zed to be slightly hostile but this? This was borderline insanity._

 _Viktor grabbed Lucian's white-streaked black hair and forced him to look Zed's faceless mask head on._

 _"I could disable the wall," Viktor hissed as Lucian struggled to get back, "You like hunting monsters Lucian…why don't you experience the same? Let him chase you down,"_

 _Viktor turned towards the rest of us, Yasuo had woken up when Zed started howling, snarling for release as he scrabbled at the glass walls._

 _"Or…" Viktor murmured, dragging Lucian to the other end of the row, to face the motionless thing that was once Fiora, "What about her?"_

 _Immediately upon seeing Lucian, the 'Project' snapped into a ready position, reaching for a blade that wasn't there. I smashed my fist against the glass. I wanted out. I_ needed _to get out…my Carry was in danger…_

 _Viktor gave a sigh and pressed a button on my container. Suddenly, the water was alight with lightning and pain…of dear_ Sun _the pain! I can't see anything._

 _It's white._

 _It hurts._

 _Make it stop…_

Please _make it stop!_

 _STOP!_

Leona shot up with a shriek hands flailing as she fended off the phantom bolts that still bit into her frame.

"Easy, easy, I have got you, my Sun," a low baritone voice soothed and Leona felt herself being pulled into something warm and solid.

Her frightened 'heartbeat' calmed slightly as Pantheon brushed a snowy-white strand of hair away from her head.

"You are safe, Leona," he told her gently, kissing her forehead before brushing his curly black hair out of his face, "Another nightmare?"

A faint nod and she buried her head in his bared chest, tears streaming from her glass eyes as they gave a faint whirring click while they adjusted to the dim light.

"What are you doing in my room?" she mumbled halfheartedly.

"Don't you remember?" not Pantheon, but Arthur asked, "You two had a nasty nightmare before this and Panth and I came in to calm you down. Cira asked if we could stay, just in case…so we did. Don't worry, Leo, we've stayed awake this whole time,"

Her eyes flickered a greyed blue and she cuddled closer into her boyfriend's warm chest.

"Thank you," she whispered as he stroked her alabaster hair again.

"For you, I'd do anything," Arthur told her, "We both would,"

"What time is it?" Cira asked.

"Nearly dawn," came the reply as Cira sat up and put her metal-shod feet on the cool marble floor, shivering slightly.

A flicker passed over her and the white hair turned scarlet as the armor decorating her frame faded away. Leona stood and Pantheon frowned slightly as he could see the raised edges of myriad scars along her back and arms…particularly three long ones on her back. He got up, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the now scarlet head.

"I love you, always know that," he whispered.

"And I love you," she replied, leaning her head into his chest as the sun rose, making Leona's skin glow and refract with golden light, sending sparks across the room.

"My Radiant Dawn," he purred, holding her close, "Never was any moniker so true,"

"The same to you," Leona chuckled, looking up at him, "Although, Baker Boy is fitting too…"

"As is Problem Child for you,"

"I'm not ashamed of that," Leona grinned, turning to face him, "I need to get dressed, might be best if you did the same,"

Pantheon gave a nod and kissed her forehead once more before going and grabbing the helmet lying on the bedside table.

" _Honestly_ Pantheon," Leona laughed, "Do you _really_ need that?"

"It's always good to keep everyone guessing," came the roguish grin, "Besides…it's for the women's safety too,"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because once they see my face, they will come for me," he smirked, "And then the wrath of the Sun will be upon them,"

Leona's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her arm with a faint clinking sound.

Her boyfriend shuddered.

"I hate it when you do that, Ci," Arthur grumbled.

"Those girls aren't going anywhere _near_ you," came the growl.

"Hence the helmet!" Arthur laughed, putting it on and walking out, "I'll see you in a bit, Ci,"

"…See ya," she replied as he closed the door behind him, "What are we going to do about them…"

 _"I've asked myself that for_ years _,"_ Leona huffed, _"But if we've lasted this long…surely a lifetime would not be so bad,"_

"I agree," Cira smiled, "It's just a matter of them _asking_ us…"

 _"And getting past our parents,"_ Leona replied.

"…That too. I think your father might uh…"

 _"Be one of those 'Shotgun Dads'?"_

"Yeah,"

 _"Orion Apollo is not a 'Shotgun Dad',"_ Leona huffed.

" _Really_ , Leo…?"

 _"Yes…he's more of a 'Chase you up and down Mount Targon with a sword and spear' type of father,"_ came the light-hearted laugh.

Cira shook her head, chuckling to herself.

"In my case…it's Mama he needs to worry about," she snorted, "She can be scary when she wants to be,"

 _"I don't doubt that,"_ Leona told her as Cira touched the area where her Projector lay…just a faint scarred outline of a triangle.

Her form flickered and the 'Classic' skin reappeared over her frame, making her look _somewhat_ normal.

A knock sounded on the door and Cira sighed, walking towards the door and opening it, revealing Andrew.

"Andrew?" she blinked, "Huh, this is new…you're normally sneaking up behind me,"

"Cira, I need to talk to you. Please come to my office as soon as you can," Andrew said, "And say _nothing_ to anyone else. Do you understand?"

"Okaaaaaayyyyy…" the First Chosen started slowly, "But…"

"I'll answer anything you have later, just…please. As a favor to me,"

Her eyes flashed gold and Leona gave a nod.

"We will be there within a few minutes," she told him.

"Thank you," Andrew nodded before starting away and disappearing around a corner.

* * *

Cira walked into the room just to face a group of people who looked tired and worn. The Chosen's eyes narrowed slightly as she recognized three of the faces before her.

"Tommy, Kaitlyn what's wrong?"

Talon's Chosen's eyes went dark as he rubbed his wrist, but he stayed silent. Cira turned to Cassiopeia's Chosen, barely repressing the urge to run as the snake woman's cat-like eyes narrowed.

"Tracy's gone," Kaitlyn growled, "We haven't seen her in months,"

"…Months?" Cira started, "Why didn't you…"

"Tracy and Kat like to go off on their own," Tommy finally said with Talon's gruff voice, "We figured they were searching for Marcus Du Couteau,"

"She's never been gone this long," Kaitlyn added.

The red-head turned to the muscle bound Barbarian king, who was holding his massive blade, knuckles white.

"Tryndamere…what happened with you?"

"Ashe is gone too," the king growled, his pale blue gaze lasering in on Cira's stormy one, "I just managed to get to the Institute. She's been missing for a few months as well,"

Cira turned to a dark-skinned couple dressed, according to Leona's memories, Zaunite fashion. Since she knew Lucian had no other family and his parents were long dead…these had to be Ekko's parents.

"You're Ekko's parents, aren't you?" Cira asked.

"Yes," Ekko's father said.

"Have you seen him!?" his mother burst out, "He's been gone far too long...he's never been gone this long!"

Cira turned to Andrew.

"And you didn't tell us they were missing for this long because _why now_?!" she growled.

"If you want to take that up with Ezekiel, go _right ahead_ ," Andrew huffed, "I was forbidden to tell _anyone_ under threat of termination from the League and we _all_ know what that means…"

The Champions and Chosens all flinched.

'Termination' from the League was _exactly_ that. Terminated from the League…and terminated from life. The reason being because if you left the League or the Institute, you were considered a danger to Valoran and by extension, Earth, because you knew too much about the inner workings of each land and its power. There were still people out there that wanted to see other nations crumble and would pay a pretty price to get information like that.

"Why me," Cira finally said, "Why did you want me here?"

"Because I believe Viktor might have had something to do with it," Andrew admitted, "Caleb said he didn't…but something doesn't feel right. This is too similar to what happened to Leona and the others,"

"What do you want us to do then?" Cira asked, "Andrew, you are my friend…I don't want you getting killed because of this,"

"You really are almost exactly like her," Andrew chuckled, "Leona, you picked the right person,"

A warm glow built up in Cira's chest as Leona's pride surged. The First Chosen looked at the families of the missing Champions.

"Where was the last time any of you saw your loved ones," she started.

"Ashe and Amelia were going on a hunting trip," Tryndamere sighed, "I should have gone with her…she disappeared right outside of Rakelstake. There were these…metal piles around the area her tracks stopped. Some looked vaguely human,"

"Kat and Trace were going to the Zaun border to look again," Tommy said, "But she never came back,"

"All that came back was her horse," Kaitlyn sniffed, "Covered in blood,"

"And Ekko?" Cira asked, turning to his parents.

"He was paying his respects to Ajuna," Ekko's mother started, tears starting to form, "Please, Miss…you have to find him…he's our son, our only child,"

"We'll find him," Leona promised, putting a warm hand on the other woman's shoulder, "We'll bring him back. I promise,"

* * *

"I swear you two are going to be the death of me," Jayce grumbled as he worked on Zayne's projector.

"He started it!" the scarlet Project snapped, glaring at Yasuo, who returned the glare and was currently rubbing the dent out of his metal arm right as sparks splashed from Zayne's projector, "OW! Watch it!"

"You sit still and that won't happen," Jayce growled.

Victoria laughed from her perch on the staircase while Lucian inspected Senna's old gun.

"Oh, come now, Zayne, you 'ave to admit… _you_ are ze one zat challenged 'im to a duel!" she grinned, "You should 'ave known you would get your teeth kicked in!"

"Or his projector broken," came Lucian's distracted mutter.

"When we're on the Rift again, I'm aiming _directly_ for you both!" Zed, not Zayne, growled only for more sparks to fly, "OW! JAYCE!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, _hold still_!" Jayce snapped.

"Tell him as many times as you want…doesn't mean he'll listen, Jayce," a sun-warm voice chuckled as Cira walked in.

"Cira, you're supposed to be on _my_ side," Zayne protested.

"I'm on no one's side," Cira deadpanned, "At least, when it comes to disputes among Champions and Chosens. It's not my job to choose sides. I just teach you how to work with your Champion for the first time and then you two have at it after that. I'm just a teacher,"

She shook her head.

"I _still_ don't know why you all look up to me so much. All I do is boss you around,"

"You're a good person, Cira," Yasuo shrugged, "People tend to gravitate towards light,"

"Like moths to a flame," Yi nodded as he walked in.

"Or Zed to trouble," Fiora teased, getting a hostile, metallic snarl from Zed.

Her eyes flashed a darker color and Victoria gave a slightly feral smile.

"I can do that too," she stated, her form glitching as pink circuits ignited on gunmetal grey armor and she gave a metallic snarl of her own.

"Be _have_ both of you," Cira ordered, making both Chosens freeze and hunker down, "Andrew just gave me some news…I didn't know that three of us were missing. Ashe and Amelia, Katarina and Tracy, David and Ekko,"

"What?" Victoria demanded, "Since _when_?!"

"Since six months ago apparently," Cira deadpanned, "No one tells me anything,"

"If they don't tell you then how are the rest of the Chosens supposed to know?" Zayne growled.

"Perhaps they didn't want you all to worry," Yi suggested, "Seeing as how Chosen Champions make up a good number of the League now,"

"And a few more of us have our eyes on people," Lucian stated, looking up from his work.

"Should I be keeping an eye out for more Project Chosens?" Cira smirked.

"Eh, who knows," Yasuo shrugged, "I mean, I dunno about the _others_ …but I've been watching a kid. Reminds me of me when I was younger…"

"And still a troublemaker," Yi teased.

"Never changed, never will," Yasuo laughed.

"But Yi raises a good point," Cira said, "Though, I wish they would have told us that they were missing…"

Her face fell slightly.

"I could have helped…" she murmured softly.

 _"Cira, don't blame yourself,"_ Leona reassured her, _"You couldn't have known…"_

"But I should have, Leo," she grumbled, "They're my responsibility…"

A hand lay itself on her shoulder.

"Cira…did Andrew say who might have taken them?" Jayce asked.

"He wasn't sure," Cira admitted, "But…he said it was awfully similar to what happened when these six were taken,"

The room went dead silent save for the few sputtering, sparking sounds of projectors failing.

"…A-Again…?" Fiora whispered, "But…Caleb…"

"Caleb said he didn't do anything," Cira reassured her, "I'm sure Andrew's just being paranoid,"

With that, the Projects calmed down somewhat. Jayce looked at Cira and saw her face darken slightly.

 _"You're not sure if Caleb's telling the truth?"_ Leona asked.

"I've just got a bad feeling…" Cira admitted, "Like I'm reliving your past through my own eyes…"

* * *

 _Meanwhile_ …

Viktor closed his eyes and folded his arms behind his head. It was time for some well deserved rest. What he didn't see, was that in the containment room…

Three triangles of icy blue, pink scarlet, and emerald green flared brightly to life.

"Creator is sleeping," a young male voice called, "I was sure he was gonna let us out today…"

"I want to get out of this cage…" a slightly cocky female voice huffed, "I am _aching_ to test myself…"

"Both of you hush," a regal female voice chastised, "You will prove yourself soon enough, Project Blade, same as you, Project Time,"

"What about you, Frost?" the boy's voice asked, "What are you wanting?"

The blue light flickered slightly.

"I am not sure," came the reply, "But I want to see things. Cold, white, soft things…"

Silence save for the faint humming of their cores.

 _"I want to be free,"_ she thought to herself.

 **Next we go back to the new Projects...let's see if Viktor lets them out and about. Maybe they'll see some action and get to test themselves. Y'never know...**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	10. Frenzy

**Alrighty, sorry this took so long. I had some other projects I had to get finished (no pun intended...) college life. Fun...Anyways, this time the new Projects get to have some fun on the surface (as in...they've got a job they've gotta do). But um...someone else in Zaun is hunting the same target...**

Chapter 9

Frenzy

"So this is what the surface looks like," Project Time started, leaping up onto a box as the hood of his cloak slipped off his head, showing off his wild white hair and his glowing green visor, "Kinda dirty…I _love_ it!"

"Get down from there," Project Blade chastised as she grabbed his arm and yanked him off the box, "We are supposed to get retrieve the target and return back, _remember_?"

"Aw, c'mon, Blade, where's your sense of adventure?"

"Both of you stop fighting," came Project Frost's voice as she climbed out of the hidden entrance, "Remember, we are only supposed to be up here long enough to complete our mission and then we are to return back to Creator,"

"You both are no fun," Time huffed, crossing his arms as Frost came and flipped his hood back up.

"The humans can't see us like this," she reminded him, "Creator said,"

"But _why_?" Time asked, "Are we some big secret or something?"

"Creator has his reasons," came the simple reply, "Now, let us proceed with the mission,"

"One of these days, his secrets are gonna come back to bite him," Time grumbled.

"Possibly," Blade remarked, "But, let's hope that if he goes down…he doesn't drag us down with him,"

"You both are talking rebellion," Frost chastised, "We don't want to end up like the Overdrive Initiative, do we?"

The other two Projects shuddered. They'd been told about their failed predecessors: Dawn, Purifier, Duelist, Bladesman, Shadow and Wanderer. How they rebelled against the creator and were ultimately destroyed or deactivated…

None of the three Disruption Projects wanted that.

"Let's go then," Frost said, renewing her grip on her bow and started into the streets of Zaun while the other two trailed her.

In Zaun, it wasn't uncommon to have augments…but, very few had augments as radical as the Projects. So it made perfect sense to remain hidden and in the shadows…hence the cloaks. The three moved through the shadows, barely registering more than a flicker in the eyes of someone watching the alleys.

According to the data being sent to Frost from her drone that was circling the city state, their target was not far from them. Their mission would be over…much to their disappointment.

"So what are we gonna do after we've gotten the target to the Creator?" Time asked, seeming to skip a few steps to catch up with Frost.

"Possibly go back into stasis until we are needed again," Frost replied, scanning the area.

"And then?"

"You ask too many questions, Project Time," she stated, but Time could see a faint smile crossing her face.

"Just curious is all,"

"I think the human saying goes: 'Curiosity killed the cat',"

"I'm not a cat though…I'm a Project!"

Frost resisted the urge to smack her palm to her face as Time gave a roguish grin.

"Aw, c'mon, Frost, that was a good one…"

"I wonder about you sometimes…"

"You're not the only one," Blade grumbled, becoming a mere flicker of pink light before reappearing on a box far ahead, "Frost, how far?"

"Oh come on, Blade…you can't want to finish _this_ soon!" Time protested, "This is the first time we've been able to get _out_ of that lab! I wanna enjoy this,"

"Mission first, play later," Frost reminded him.

"But we're gonna get stuck in those stasis chambers again once we finish!" Time growled, "Frost, Blade…Creator doesn't trust us is what I think,"

"He has a point, Frost," Blade agreed, "What's to stop him from scrapping us?"

"He's spent too much time on us," Frost replied, looking around a corner, "He just doesn't want what happened with the Overdrive Initiative to happen with us. Though, the way he talks about _them_ makes me think he's still bitter about losing them. Apparently they were near perfect,"

"Yeah, until Dawn glitched," Blade deadpanned, "Better be careful, Frost…it might be something with Leader Class Projects,"

"I'm _not_ her," Frost spat icily, "She was glitched in programming, flawed in design and her leadership skills…"

"Were par to none according to Creator," Time pointed out, "She was good. Admit it,"

"She was a good leader," Frost admitted, "But she fell in the end because of the glitch. I _don't_ have a glitch, so I'm _fine_. I'm _better_ than she was,"

There was a high-pitched beeping sound coming from Frost's wrist as the drone came back down from the sky and reattached to her back. Her visor blazed as the data synced and she gave a nod.

"The target is just around the corner in the square. According to Creator, we are to take him and deliver him to the Creator for the Champion known as Singed,"

"Let's do this then!" Time grinned, nearly bouncing up and down in excitement as his circuits blazed.

"Finally, a chance to prove ourselves," Blade smirked, her blades flickering into her palms as her white hair fell in her face.

"Be careful out there," Frost said, "I will provide cover should he try to escape,"

The two other Projects nodded and started forwards.

* * *

Flashes of pink, blue, green…he'd never seen colors that bright in the depths of Zaun. Just the gunmetal grey and venom green. He watched as they swirled and whirled, blinking around the man who had been walking through the square. He saw as the man suddenly hit the ground, three black-cloaked figures standing above him.

He'd been tracking that 'man' for weeks…trying to end the tyranny the man had held over the lower west side of the city state. But, it seemed that these three did his job for him.

"Objective secured," the blue one stated, her regal voice echoing through the air, tinged with static.

"Too easy," the pink one snorted, "Did Creator _honestly_ think we couldn't handle this?"

"He had his reasons," the blue one replied, "We should not question it,"

The green one stayed silent, seeming to look around nervously. Did he sense him?

He watched as the pink one came closer to the man, a blade of glowing hot pink in hand.

"What are you doing?" the blue one asked.

"Creator never said that he had to be in one piece!" she said, "Besides, from what I gathered from Creator…this 'Singed' Champion person isn't going to keep him that way! I'm only being _helpful_ , Frost,"

His blood boiled as the wind blasted through the square, forcing the three cloaked figures to grab their hoods…and blowing their scent towards him. He took a deep breath and froze as the odd smell of metal, oil and…

Freljordian snow, Noxian soot, and Zaunite chemicals.

Three scents he knew and associated with three individuals that he had fought with on the Rift.

He'd found Ashe, Katarina and Ekko.

* * *

Project Time had a hard time shaking off the feeling of dread that settled in his core. Something wasn't right…

"Time, what are you waiting for?" Blade demanded, "We've got the target, let's go,"

"Somethin's not right…" Time said slowly, holding his bat tighter, the emerald blade flowing uncertainly.

"What do you mean?!" Blade scoffed, "The mission was a complete success!"

"I just…I feel like we're being _watched_ ," Time shuddered, "I don't like it…"

"Probably Creator checking on us…making sure we didn't fail," Blade deadpanned, "Now _come on_!"

She grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the man, who immediately pulled a knife and slashed, catching Frost across the cheek and causing scarlet and gold liquid to drip from the gash. Blade's knives flashed out, carving twin gashes on the man's cheeks, her visor glowing angrily.

"Eye for an eye, basta-"

A roaring howl shattered the silence and Time stumbled, circuits flickering wildly as his terrified gaze flashed around the square.

"Where is he?!" he yelled, panicking.

"Where's who?" Blade asked.

"THE HOWLER!" Time shrieked, gaze darting around as he backed against the wall, circuits flashing.

"The…what now?" Frost asked as the scrabble of claws on stone caught her ear.

She turned around just to get sent flying by a frenzy of teeth, matted fur and claws. Sheer instinct made her bring up her bow and try to fend off the monster's jagged fangs, sending saliva spraying everywhere as it gnawed on the metal bow.

"FROST!" Time yelled, dashing forwards in a flicker of green light, teleporting to the monster's side and smashing his bat against the monster's skull, "Let her go!"

An inhuman snarl and the monster backhanded him into a wall, making him cry out as the stones collapsed over him.

Frost kicked the monster in the 'chest' sending it flying off her as she flipped upright, her cloak's hood slipping off her snowy head and her good optic blazing with azure light.

"You are in my _way_ ," Frost growled, a volley of cryo-charged plasma bolts singing from her bow.

The monster dodged and Blade got a good look at it as she helped Time get free of the rubble.

" _That_ is what you're so scared of, Time?" she snorted, "it's just a puppy!"

"That ain't _no_ puppy," Time snapped, pulling out a small device and hurling it at the Howler, "CATCH!"

* * *

Warwick's ears tilted towards the sound and he snarled as the Timewinder passed through him before rewinding back to its creator's hand.

The part of Warwick's mind that was still human recognized the attack.

 _"I found them…the League's missing Champions,"_

A knife buried itself in his fur and suddenly, the pink one… _Katarina…_ was on him, stabbing into his hide. He grabbed her, his talons digging into the armor with a tortured squeal and he tore her off his back, hurling her into a wall and making her cry out as a gash opened up on her head.

The machine pumps the hatred and bloodlust into him again and his still lucid mind was lost as red fog covered his vision.

He saw flashes of green, blue and pink in the fog, felt pain as arrows, knives and the bat slammed against him. He snarled, baring his razor sharp fangs and snapping at the pink blur, catching nothing but air as she dodged to the side in a blink. He snapped at the green blur, but it too dodged out of the way. He wanted to get the blue blur, but the pink and green blurs' attacks became more and more powerful and frequent…like they didn't _want_ it to get hurt.

Suddenly, pain lashed across his muzzle and the fog started to lift. He saw the blurs solidify into what _could_ be called humans, but armored and still glowing. He watched as the one who smelled like Katarina grabbed the one that smelled like Ashe and bolted, fleeing into the gloom. He watched as the one that smelled like Ekko, grabbed the man and bolted away as well, all of them leaving streaks of pink, green and blue in the darkness.

Warwick growled, making to give chase, but when he took the first step, pain forced him to the ground. He looked at his foreleg and gave a low grumbling sound as he gingerly put It on the ground, only for the pain to lance up it again.

 _"Blunt force trauma…he broke my leg…"_ Warwick thought bitterly as he stood up on his hind legs and reached towards his bad wrist, touching the small, acid-green stone mounted on it.

He gave one last look to the direction the three had disappeared to and growled before his world exploded into sparks as he went to the Institute.

* * *

Viktor watched as the Projects returned, as Time made it two steps inside the lab before collapsing, sparks spitting from his core. Viktor came closer and picked the Project up, getting a faint moan from him.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Freakin' _Howler_ …" Time grumbled, "Threw me into a wall…"

He stopped, frowning.

"The Wall…it…broke…didn't it?" he asked, looking up at Blade and Frost, who nodded.

He tried to get to his feet.

"I have to fix it…have to rewind…" he muttered, "Ajuna…I broke the wall…he…"

"Time, what are you talking about?" Frost asked, "Who's Ajuna?"

Time's visor flickered and he turned to face her…his dark face paling.

"…A-Ashe?" he blinked, "Katarina? What…"

He turned to Viktor and his expression darkened as he grabbed his bat and started to swing…

"RESTRAIN HIM!" Viktor ordered, leaping back as Frost and Blade dashed forwards, tackling Time, no, _Ekko_.

Ekko struggled against the two Projects, visor blazing like a star.

"LET ME GO! HE _DID_ THIS TO US!" Ekko shrieked, "HE…"

"Be _still_ ," Frost ordered and immediately Ekko's limb's locked up.

"What did you…!?" Ekko demanded.

"You need repairs, Project Time," Frost said, "You _must_ calm down…"

"Project!?" Ekko cried, "My _name_ is Ekko! My name is _David_! He's…!"

Sparks flashed over him and Ekko shrieked, falling limp as his circuits went dark.

"Will he be alright?" Frost asked as Viktor pulled the cattle prod back.

"I am going to repair him…hopefully he will not be as hostile," Viktor said, grabbing the boy and dragging him towards the Projects' room.

Blade looked at Frost and frowned.

"What did Time mean by 'name'?" she asked, "Ekko and David?"

"I don't know," Frost shrugged, "But…I can't shake the feeling that it's familiar…"

 **I figured that Ekko'd be terrified of Warwick...mainly because he was most likely a child when Warwick was turned and had grown up with stories of The Howler stalking the streets of Zaun. But...someone from the League has seen these three. So that means rescue is immanent, right? :)**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	11. Man or Machine (Part I)

**And now we get to see two of our new Projects have some fun...and the loved ones decide to take things into their own hands.**

Chapter 10

Man or Machine (Part I)

Andrew was working at his desk, _again_. Since his first little outburst about the missing Champions, Ezekiel had him basically _confined_ to his office. Normally, Andrew wouldn't have minded…it was the fact that Ezekiel barred him from visiting with the Chosens that made him angry.

However, they'd found a loophole…as Cira so _wonderfully_ spotted…

While he couldn't visit them, they could _certainly_ visit him. He had to admit…seeing Ezekiel sputtering and trying to protest against an angry Solari and her Chosen who had him at blade point backed by quite a good amount of Chosen Champions was quite amusing. Cira and Leona liked him as much as Andrew did.

He looked up to see the Support lightly dozing in a chair on the far end of the office. Since being confined here, she spent most of her time with him, keeping him company. Of course, there were times where she had to leave…but she came back once what she had to do was done. He looked around the room to see some other Champions around, mainly Garen, Talon, Cassiopeia and Tryndamere who were hoping and praying to hear something about their loved ones.

Suddenly, Cira woke. The First Chosen sat upright in the chair, head cocked slightly as she listened.

"What is it?" Andrew asked.

"I hear footsteps," she said, "They're all the way down the hall, but I can hear the scrape of claws against stone,"

Her eyes flashed gold and Leona gave a nod.

"It's Warwick, I can smell the chemicals and blood. He's been in a fight,"

"You amaze me sometimes," Andrew chuckled.

"Sometimes it pays to be more than human," Leona muttered, rubbing her arm.

Andrew gave a sad smile as the door opened and the Wrath of Zaun prowled in, his scarlet gaze flicking towards Andrew and Leona as his tail swept back and forth.

"What is it, Warwick?" Andrew asked, "Something you need?"

"I… _found_ them," came the low, gravelly growl.

"Found who?" Leona asked, getting up and approaching the were-beast without fear.

Andrew bit back a smile. He remembered when she first came to the League and ran into Warwick. The look of surprise on Warwick's face as Leona walked up to him fearlessly and asked him if it was alright to pet him was hysterical. She then smiled and said she was just joking, but she was curious how his fur felt because it looked soft.

 _No one_ had come up to him and done that before. At least…not without a sliver of fear within them. Annie had been the only other one who had shown some sense of that fearlessness, but even then…she had Tibbers standing sentinel beside her.

Warwick respected Leona for that, and she respected him as a fellow Champion and warrior.

"The missing Champions," the wolfman told her, "They were in Zaun,"

"Ekko and Katarina I'd understand…" Andrew deadpanned, "But why would Ashe be there?"

"What are you saying, Andrew?" Leona frowned.

"Warwick, how did you find them?" Andrew questioned.

"They cornered a man I have been hunting," Warwick growled, "I was watching when the man cut Ashe, then everything…"

His ears flicked slightly downwards.

"You went into a blood frenzy," Andrew stated, "Warwick, that kind of makes what you said less viable,"

"I _smelled_ them!" Warwick snarled, "My mind might not be what it used to, but my nose _never_ lies!"

"Can't we at least go _check_?" Tommy demanded, "Andrew, that's my cousin that's been missing for six months!"

"My sister," Kaitlyn added.

"My _wife_ ," Tryndamere growled.

"You all know I can't say anything," Andrew huffed, "I swear, one of these days, the Tribunal will see what Ezekiel's done and get _rid_ of him…"

"Andrew…" Cira warned.

"The point is, it is a very good chance that someone who looked like them was seen by Warwick," Andrew pointed out, "We don't…"

"Um…can I interrupt?"

The Champions and Chosen all shivered as the air temperature dropped and a sense of dread filled them. Only one had that power over them…

"What is it, Dianne?" Cira asked, smiling as she spotted the Kindred sitting on the top of a chair, precariously perched on the edge.

The Lamb hopped off the chair, landing on the Wolf's mask elegantly before continuing to the ground.

"He's not lying and he's not wrong," Dianne said, petting Wolf's head as the spectral creature had a glaring match with Warwick, "Ashe was close to death, so close that I was summoned there for the fight,"

"You _saw_ her!?" Tryndamere demanded, rushing up and grabbing Dianne by the shoulders before releasing her as if she'd burned him.

"I saw them all," Dianne admitted, "I couldn't see much…but it was them. They're in Zaun,"

"Then what are we waiting for?!" came the Avarosan King's demand, "We need to go find them and bring them home!"

"If we just up and leave…they'll think I told you and we know what that means," Andrew explained, "Tryndamere, believe me…I want them safe too,"

Garen, Talon, Cassiopeia and Tryndamere all glared at him.

"Please, don't do anything rash," Andrew sighed.

"We won't, Andrew," Garen said, walking out with the other three following close behind.

"Cira…" Andrew sighed, pinching his nose, "What are we going to do with them?"

"I don't know," she replied as Warwick stalked out and Dianne looked out the window while Wolf gave a low growl at Warwick.

"If it helps, they're still alive," Dianne told her, "Warwick nearly ate Ashe, that's why I was summoned…but Ekko and Kat fought him off. Cira, uh…there was something else I didn't get the chance to say,"

"What?" she asked.

"They glowed. Like…like you do,"

"What?"

"Not with sunlight…but…" she poked at Cira's chest, at the projector, "that kind of glow,"

Cira frowned.

"Something isn't right…" she whispered.

* * *

"How's he doing?" Blade asked as Frost exited the room currently housing Time.

"He's still rambling nonsense," she said, throwing a worried look back at the room, "I hope it isn't the same glitch that took down the Overdrive Initiative,"

"Yeah, I don't think that would be good at all,"

Frost looked down at the floor, rubbing her wrist as her good optic sputtered slightly.

"…Frost?"

"He called me Ashe and Amelia," she murmured, "I don't know why…but those names are oddly familiar to me. Something about… 'Chosen',"

"Don't take anything he says right now seriously," Blade advised, "he's crazy at the moment…I saw the damage output on him…his core took a big beating in that fight. He's lucky he's alive,"

"True," Frost nodded, "He called you Katarina and Tracy though…"

Blade gave a shudder as her circuits dimmed slightly.

"I'll admit, I feel like I know those names too," she said, "But it's not important. Names are human concepts remember? We're not human. We're _based_ on them,"

"Still…" Frost huffed, "I feel like something's being hidden from us…and I don't like it one bit,"

Blade opened her mouth to protest when an alarm sounded off in her ear. A map of the facility flashed on her visor and a point of light blinked.

"Silent alarm," she finally said, "We should go check this out,"

"What about Time?"

"He's hurt, he won't be able to help us," Blade told her, "If anything, we should go and make sure whatever's coming doesn't kick him while he's down,"

Frost nodded and folded her bow before her hood materialized over her head.

"Let's go,"

* * *

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Tommy asked as Warwick sniffed the air.

"I've lived on these streets since I was a child," the Wrath of Zaun growled.

"It all looks the same down here!" Kaitlyn protested, "I thought the surface was too similar…this is worse,"

"Other than Ekko, you are lucky you have me. He knows this underworld almost as well as I," the wolfman stated, his growl mangling his words as his tail flicked in annoyance.

The cousins opened their mouths again only for a heavy hand to lay on their shoulders.

"It might be the best idea not to pester him," Garen advised, "He's unstable enough as is,"

"Only when blood runs…then _they_ run," came the dark laugh from the man turned monster as he got on all fours and sniffed around again.

"As long as we find Ashe and the others, I do not care," Tryndamere stated, watching Warwick.

"Do you think we'll find them?" Kaitlyn asked, rubbing her olive-toned arms as her serpentine lower half coiled in on itself.

"We'll find them, Kait," Tommy reassured her, hugging her tightly, "I bet Tracy's just fine,"

"I hope so…"

A low growl filtered through the air and the other Champions and Chosens all looked up as Warwick's ears pricked forwards and his hackles rose.

"Warwick?" Tommy asked.

"I smell them,"

"Tracy?!" Kaitlyn gasped, hope soaring in her chest.

"Katarina and Ashe, yes," her growled, "But the smell is warped. Something is not right,"

A flash of neon blue blazed by Warwick's ear and sank into a pipe, cracking the metal and sending steam flooding into the passage. Tryndamere looked up just to see a blue flicker far ahead, the feeling of familiarity flooded through him and he bolted towards the light.

"Ashe!" he yelled.

"Tryndamere! Stay here!" Garen yelled, but the Barbarian King did not listen, chasing after the phantom that reminded him of his wife, "Warwick…can you…"

"I'll follow him," the wolfman muttered, bounding after Tryndamere while Garen, Tommy and Kaitlyn made their way out of the cloud of steam.

A glint of vibrant pink caught Kaitlyn's eye and she looked over her shoulder. Like Tryndamere, a feeling of familiarity washed over her as the figured bolted away.

"Tracy?" she gasped, "TRACY!"

"Kait what are you…" Tommy started as Kaitlyn glided in the direction of her 'sister', "KAITLYN! GET BACK HERE!"

He ran after her while Garen followed him.

* * *

Tryndamere's sword scraped across the metal floors, sending up sparks as he chased after the fleeting blue shadow. It was fast, light on its feet just like Ashe had always been. He could hear the pounding of Warwick's paws behind him, the sinister scrape of his claws as they sank into the metal.

"Ashe! Amelia! It's me!" he bellowed, managing to corner the fleeing shadow, "Why are you running from your husband?"

The cloaked shadow said nothing, just stayed silent.

Tryndamere came closer, slowly, laying down his weapon so as to not scare her.

"I am unarmed, Ashe. You know I would never hurt you,"

Silence.

He came closer still, hands up as he was now in touching distance. He could see the slight trembling of his wife's body.

"I swear, whoever hurt you is going to pay with his life," Tryndamere growled, putting his hands on her slim shoulders, "It's alright. I have you…you're safe. We're going to take you home,"

"I don't recall us being friends," came the icy reply as a swift kick sent Tryndamere flying into a wall.

He grunted as he looked up and Warwick came in.

"Ashe?" Tryndamere asked as the figure's hood fell down, revealing snowy white locks, and a glowing blue optic while the other remained dark.

"I do not know this 'Ashe'," the woman growled, metal and static lacing her voice, "My designation is PROJECT: Frost. You are intruding. Stand down, or be _put_ down,"

"Tryndamere, this is what I smelled," Warwick grumbled, "It smells like her and looks like her…but it is off…it isn't Ashe,"

"That _is_ Ashe," Tryndamere argued as he got up, rubbing his chest, "I'd know my wife anywhere…no matter what she looked like,"

Frost cocked her head, her pale face confused.

"Tryn…damere?" she whispered to herself, "I…know that name…"

Pain exploded in her processor as images of snow, ice, warm fires, a bow of blue ice, a man dressed in regal robes and a golden crown smiling as he offered his hand to her.

She gasped, stumbling slightly as her circuits flickered.

 _"What is this!?"_ she thought, shaking her head violently, _"No…am I glitching? Was he right about it being something with the Leader class?"_

"Ashe?" Tryndamere tried again, "Dear, please…it's alright. Just…come home, we'll figure this out I…"

She brought up her bow and fired a shot, scratching Tryndamere across the face.

"I. Am. Project," she snarled, her hood materializing over her white hair as her visor snapped down over her face, "You are an intruder. Get. _Out_. Or I will fill you with arrows,"

"Ashe…" Tryndamere protested as scarlet blood began to ooze from the wound.

 _"I hurt him…oh Avarosa I hurt him…"_ came the faint, whisper-soft voice of reason, _"Stop…we have to stop…"_

A low snarling sound came from the right and Frost's visor flashed as the pump on Warwick's back blazed red, pumping chemicals into him.

"You again," Frost growled as Warwick _roared_.

She raised her bow and started firing a flurry of cryo-charged plasma bolts at the Howler, but that made him even madder. She continued firing, this time in a cone that froze everyone in its radius. A few bolts hit Tryndamere, but the King simply ripped them out and dashed forwards, grabbing his wife and running back the way they came.

"Release me at once!" Frost snarled, slamming her fists down on Tryndamere's shoulder and making him stumble with each hit.

"Believe me, dear, this is for your own good," Tryndamere told her.

She gave a shrieking, staticky wail that made Tryndamere's bones and blood turn to ice. There were words in her scream but he couldn't understand them. Her circuits burned a cobalt color and she struck him with staggering force. Tryndamere grunted, letting her slip free. She whirled around and swung at him with her bow, her gaze hard and unfeeling behind her visor as the cold metal collided with the side of his head, sending him to the ground.

 ** _"I warned you. If you stand in my way, you will_ not _be standing long,"_** Frost snarled in the staticky, metallic language that Projects knew as ice spread in a slick white circle around her, **_"Stay down and do not follow me. You humans do not belong here,"_**

And she dashed away.

* * *

"TRACY!" Kaitlyn screeched, slithering through the area, her blue eyes worried as a pipe spurted steam into her eyes.

She gave a squeal as she threw her hands up…and screamed even louder as someone grabbed her shoulder. Her scales ruffled and golden light started to fill her eyes.

"EASY KAIT! It's me!" Tommy cried, shielding his eyes.

" _Tommy_!" Kaitlyn cried, "Don't scare me like that!"

Tommy's light eyes turned brown as Talon shook his head.

"Cass, you were scared too, weren't you?"

Kaitlyn's blue eyes turned green and Cassiopeia glared at him.

"It _wasn't_ funny. I could have turned you permanently," she grumbled, "And Kaitlyn would have never forgiven herself. Not to mention Quinn,"

Talon rolled his eyes.

"I think I lost the Demacian back there," he said, "I _would_ say we should leave him…but if Kat found out we left him, she'd have our heads,"

Cassiopeia gave a wry smile and slithered towards where she'd seen the flicker of light.

"He's fast," she told him, "He'll catch up. I want to find my sister and give her a hard time for all the things she's put on me!"

Talon gave a gruff laugh and followed his 'sister', making sure that nothing leaped on her from the dark.

A flash of pink caught his eye and he just barely pushed Cassiopeia down as something punctured the wall just a hair's breadth from his head.

"Oh…I missed,"

Talon and Cassiopeia both looked up to see a cloaked figure standing behind them.

"…Kat?" Cassiopeia blinked, "Is that…is that you?"

The figure gave a snort and settled in a cocky stance with her hip cocked to the side…just like Katarina did normally.

"It _is_ you!" Cassiopeia gasped, pushing herself upright and gliding over to her 'sister', "Do you have _any idea how much you scared us!?_ First Father, then you…Katarina I can't _take_ it anymore! _"_

The figure let her approach and Cassiopeia threw her arms around her sister, crying.

"Don't leave me again, Tracy," Kaitlyn whimpered, "Please…"

A flicker of pink caught the Blade's Shadow and his Chosen's eyes.

"KAIT LOOK OUT!" Tommy yelled, rushing forwards and blocking the dagger that was getting ready to plunge into Kaitlyn's back with his own arm blade.

He pushed her back before kicking what Kaitlyn had thought was Katarina and sending her into a wall, her hood slipping down and revealing not scarlet locks, but bone white and a pink visor.

"That actually hurt," she growled, her form blinking out and reappearing upright in a flash of pink light, "Intriguing,"

"Tra…cy?" Kaitlyn croaked.

"I don't know who this 'Tracy' or this 'Katarina' is…but whoever they are? They _can't help you_ ," the woman laughed, "You poor, defenseless humans…no _wonder_ Creator heads the Glorious Evolution. You're so weak it's _pathetic_ ,"

"Trace, c'mon, stop playing around," Tommy snapped, "Let's just go home…we can fix this,"

"I told you, I don't kno-,"

"TRACY ARMSTRONG!" Kaitlyn shrieked in desperation, "Your name is Tracy Armstrong! You're 20 years old now, you're the daughter of Liz and Jack Armstrong, you're Tommy's cousin and my sister! You were Chosen by Katarina not long after Tommy was stabbed so you could watch over him. You're kinda harsh to some people, but you love your family. You said you were going to help us find Kat and Cass' dad…but you…you've been gone for six months!"

She started crying.

"Tracy…please…I don't want to fight you," she sniffed, "I just want you to come _home_ ,"

"A name is a human concept," came the bitter reply, "My designation is PROJECT: Blade. I have no family other than my three comrades and my Creator. I am not human. I am _better_ ,"

Two blades entered her palms and she set her feet.

"You're intruding, I think it's time you _leave_ ," Blade grinned.

"Not without you," Tommy said firmly.

"Then you'll die here," she shrugged, tossing a blade in the air and teleporting behind Tommy.

Tommy barely managed to raise his blade against her, sending up a clash of sparks pink and gold.

"You're fast," she hummed, teleporting back to where she dropped the first blade, whirling around and assaulting him again, opening up some of Blade's Shadow's fair skin, "Oh, you seem to be leaking,"

He wiped his cheek, smearing the blood as his eyes darkened to brown.

"Kat, I'm warning you, _stand down_ ,"

"And I warned you to leave," Blade sighed, "Guess we're both going to be disappointed!"

Kaitlyn watched as the two engaged in battle, almost too fast for the human eye to see. The dark flutter of Talon's cloak of knives and the pink flare of Blade's circuits were all someone watching would be able to see. Kaitlyn still had a hard time tracking the movements as Talon hurled three blades out, calling them to return as Blade disappeared and reappeared on the other side of them. But it was clear…Talon was going to lose, he wasn't as fast as she was. _Unless_ …

 _"Sorry, Tracy,"_ Kaitlyn thought as she stretched out her hands, feeling venom fill her mouth, _"But we just want you_ home _…"_

She shrieked, and a purple miasma formed on the floor, grounding Blade and poisoning her slightly.

"What?" Blade blinked, looking up at Kaitlyn, who shrugged helplessly.

"Sorry, Tracy…but it's for your own good,"

Talon disappeared in a flicker of silver blades, coming behind Blade to subdue her…

Only for Blade to suddenly send a crushing punch to his gut, sending him flying down the hall and into the far wall. Blood spattered past Talon's lips as he choked and tried to get up.

"…How…?" he croaked.

"You are _so_ predictable," Blade stated as he became visible again, walking towards Kaitlyn, " _anyone_ would reason that you would go behind your enemy in order to get the drop on them. And _you_ …"

Her servo snapped out and grabbed Kaitlyn by the neck, hoisting her up.

"I never liked things with too many legs…" she growled as Kaitlyn cried out, scrabbling at the cold metal servo, "And it seems that dislike has come to things with _no_ legs as well,"

She hurled Kaitlyn into Tommy, making her gasp and choke as she held her neck. Blade stalked towards them, two glowing daggers in hand…

"Katarina?!"

She stopped, her head cocked in slight confusion.

"I've heard that voice before…" she marveled.

"Garen! _Run_!" Kaitlyn cried, voice hoarse from the choking.

"Ga...ren…" Blade hummed, savoring the name as a wicked smile crossed her face.

Her visor gave a flash and she turned to face him, the wicked smile turned to one of joy.

"Garen!" she beamed, "You came for me,"

"And why wouldn't I?" the Might of Demacia asked, his blue eyes narrowed slightly as she came closer, "Katarina…what happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, "I don't feel any different…"

"Garen… _move_!" Talon snapped, "She's… _toying_ with you!"

"Don't listen to them," Blade told him, "Talon's just jealous that I beat him in a fight. He was never as strong as you,"

Garen frowned.

"That doesn't sound like the Katarina I know," he said, raising his blade, "If you are Katarina, I am sorry for what I am about to do,"

He swung and Blade teleported away, laughing.

"Oh _this_ one is perceptive," she laughed, "A perceptive human…that's a new one. Even those two are still convinced I'm this 'Katarina' and 'Tracy',"

She slashed at him, opening a cut on his forehead, before sending a crushing blow to his exposed head, knocking him off his feet. She raised her blade…and stopped.

 _"What am I doing?!"_ she thought, _"I hurt Garen and Cass and Talon…I hurt Kait and Tommy…"_

She shook her head slightly and renewed her grip.

 _"I have to finish this…they're intruding, I have to…"_

A searing pain exploded in her processor and Blade stumbled, backing to a wall as she dropped her knives and held her head.

Images of tall city spires entered her vision, of a man with bright scarlet hair and green eyes hugging her and a little blonde girl tightly, of the same man bringing a dark-haired, dark-eyed boy off the street and introducing him to her, of the dark-haired and blue eyed man smiling as she and him dueled. Of him giving a chaste kiss to her hand as they met once again under 'friendly' skies…

She gasped, backing away from the fallen heroes. Her core pulsed rapidly.

 ** _"…Get away from me,"_** she spat in a staciky, metallic dialect that only Projects could understand.

And she ran as a roaring howl tore through the air.

* * *

Andrew gave a sigh as he tapped his fingers on his desk, bored out of his mind. That is…until a loud pounding made itself known on the door.

"It's open," he said as four Champions barged in.

Talon, Garen, Cassiopeia and Tryndamere all four looked like they went through a warzone.

"What in the worlds happened to you!?" Andrew demanded.

"We found them," Tommy said, "We found Kat and Ashe,"

"But…Andrew…" Kaitlyn rasped, what looked like a handprint starting to form on her throat, "They…it happened again,"

"What?" Andrew frowned.

"What happened seven years ago happened again," Tryndamere growled, "Viktor turned them into Projects. Where is Cira?"

"Jayce took her and the other five Project Champions and…" Andrew's eyes narrowed, "Oh _no_ …"

 **Heh, next time...the originals get to meet their replacements. _This'_ ll go over well...**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	12. Man or Machine (Part II)

**Now time for the _other_ Projects to meet these three. This'll be fun...I mean, I'm pretty sure Frost and Leona will get along...It's Frost and Cira you guys should watch for!**

Chapter 11

Man or Machine (Part II)

Blade ran back into the lab just to see Frost sitting against a wall, her head in her knees.

"What happened?" she asked.

Frost looked up with an unamused expression before putting her head back down.

"Remember when Creator told us the Overdrive Initiative fell to a glitch? That their leader caught it first?"

"Yeah…"

Frost's single blue optic glinted as she lifted her head and sighed.

"Apparently, I have it," she muttered, "I froze when I shot one of the intruders,"

She touched her palm, frowning.

"I saw things…things that weren't…it was like there was another life before this," she murmured, "I can still feel his hand holding mine…"

Blade frowned as she rubbed her own servo.

"…I felt it too," she muttered, "Frost, I…I don't want to be deactivated. I want to stay active for a good while. We've only been active for a week…"

"I know," Frost told her, "We have to fight it…But, I suppose that with basing us off of humans, it came with a price,"

"What do you mean?"

"…We feel," Frost explained, "And that extends to the one emotion we should not have,"

"And that is?"

Frost gave a watery smile.

"Fear,"

* * *

"Viktor's lab doesn't look as terrifying as I thought it would," Cira commented as she followed Jayce inside, the other Overdrive Projects following her.

"A lot cleaner than the last time I saw it," Jayce nodded.

Cira took another step and a feeling of cold rushed over her. Her chest sparked and sputtered and her projector failed, dimming to a barely noticeable glow as her golden circuits blazed to life, her long white hair cascading down her back.

"Uh…Jayce, I swear I didn't break it…I didn't touch it,"

Jayce turned around just to see the other projectors failing as well, sending flashes of pink, orange, scarlet, yellow, reddish orange and gold washing over the area, the glowing visors of six Projects lazering in on him.

"We'll fix it when we get out of here, ok?" Jayce promised the six white-haired Champions, "I just want to see if my hunch is right,"

"If I remember right," Victoria stated, "Caleb said he didn't know where ze others were,"

"Caleb, no, Viktor didn't answer us," Jayce pointed out.

"Caleb _is_ Viktor," Lucian reminded him, "Don't you think he'd know?"

Jayce sighed.

"Look, just…humor me, alright?" he asked, "If there's nothing here, fine. We'll go back and I'll fix your projectors and figure out what went wrong. If there _is_ something here and he _did_ something to them…we destroy the lab like we all agreed on…even Caleb,"

"I do not see what the point of this is," Yi said, "There is nothing here,"

"Just look around," Jayce growled.

Zayne and Victoria looked at Cira, who shrugged and started looking around.

"Sometimes I wonder if Jayce is the one with a few screws loose rather than us," Zayne muttered, tapping his helm with a metal digit and making Victoria snort, her visor flashing brightly as her shoulders shook in mirth.

"Or if that hammer of his gives off fumes?" Yasuo quipped, making the two Chosens burst out laughing.

Something clanged against Yasuo's helm and the Project retracted his visor, glaring heatedly at Jayce, who calmly picked up the wrench from off the floor.

" _Ow_!" he growled.

"Oops, hand slipped," Jayce deadpanned, "And besides, I'm surprised you could feel that through your thick skull, Yasuo,"

Yasuo's circuits burned a deep orange-scarlet only for a heavy, gold-accented servo to land on his shoulder. Yasuo looked at Leona, who shook her helm once and silently went back to searching.

* * *

A blip of light appeared on the two female Projects' visors, making them both frown.

"Another intruder alert?" Frost asked.

"What _is_ it with humans and invading the Creator's privacy today?' Blade huffed.

Frost gave a chuckle and frowned as she looked at the information.

"Scanners indicate that there are more than one…but they're coming back as only one human," she hummed.

"Maybe the fool brought a few Vigilnauts with him," Blade snorted, "We can take them…"

"Except for one thing," Frost breathed, "They're closing in on Time,"

Blade's visor flashed as an expression of anger crossed her pale face.

"Let's give them a welcome party then," she growled.

* * *

The tortured squeal of metal caught Jayce's attention and his head snapped up just to see Leona peeling back a metal door with her bare hands as if it were a tin can.

"Leona?" he asked.

"There's signs of life here," she said, "It's faint…but my scanners are picking it…up…"

Her glow sputtered slightly and she dashed forwards.

"LEO!" Yasuo yelled, chasing only to stop as he saw what had Leona spooked.

Jayce made his way into the room and froze as Leona gently hovered over a figure on a table. A figure that gave off a weak, emerald glow. Leona put a feather-light servo on the figure's, a boy, shoulder…only for the figure to wake up, shrieking and struggling.

"Easy! Easy!" Leona soothed, wrapping her arms around the restrained boy, letting her warmth radiate, "You're safe, it's ok…"

The boy's ragged breaths calmed slightly and Leona pulled back.

"I'm going to release you, alright?" she told him, putting a hand on the restraints, "You're not going to be harmed, I promise. I'm going to get you out of here,"

The boy nodded slowly, his green visor flashing as Leona ripped the restraints apart. She gave a smile as she held out her hand again.

"There, much better," she smiled, "Now, who are you?"

The boy hesitated slightly, his exposed jaw forming a frown as his visor flickered.

"PROJECT: T-Time," he finally replied, his voice glitching slightly.

Leona's own jaw set in a determined frown as she examined him.

"Fiora, please come here and help me," she called.

The Grand Duelist immediately came to her side. The Medic and Leader examining the new Project carefully.

"'is core is cracked," Fiora finally said, her pink visor retracting and revealing her pale eyes, "I don't zink it will kill him…but…it will be annoying. It will cause glitches in both 'is vocal processor and some motor functions,"

"He's a Project?" Jayce asked.

" _Oui_?" Fiora nodded, slightly confused, "But, 'e is slightly different from us…I cannot tell what exactly…"

"You're…Overdrive Initiative?" Project Time asked, "Creator…said you were…destroyed, _deactivated_ ,"

"We're _not_ deactivated," Zed growled, "Just still human,"

"…Projects aren't human," Project Time blinked, "We were created to…to…"

He grabbed his helm, his metal fingers digging into it as he gave a cry of pain, circuits flashing. Leona embraced him again, trying to sooth the pain.

"It'll be over soon," she crooned, stroking the wild white hair, "The pain doesn't last, I promise. Once you remember your name…it goes away,"

"There is nothing though," Project Time protested, "I am Project. A name is a human concept,"

"Were we that difficult?" Lucian asked.

"Some of you more than others," Leona deadpanned, "I had to throw Yasuo into a music store,"

"I had to duel Fiora," Zed added.

"You deserved getting smacked a few times," Fiora huffed, "You tried to kill us,"

"I said I was sorry!"

Jayce frowned as he looked at the Project in Leona's arms. He looked familiar, very much so.

"Leo, do you recognize him?" Jayce asked slowly.

"What do you mean, Jayce?" Leona asked, "Sorry, he's…blurry, distorted, for me,"

"Leona…he's _Ek_ -"

"Time, what are you doing?" a metallic, female voice asked.

The green Project froze, jumping sky high and whirling around while the Overdrive Projects and Jayce turned to face the speaker. She was tall, slender, and glowed with a gentle, icy blue light. Her left eye was covered by what appeared to be a patch of solid black metal and unlike the boy, her skin was a porcelain white that matched Fiora, Zed, and Yi's.

"Uh, Frost!" Time stammered slightly, "Good to see ya…I uh…got repaired, just like you suggested…"

"Who are they?" the other Project, Frost, started, her keen blue gaze narrowing slightly.

"Our…um…predecessors," Time told her, "Overdrive Initiative. Frost, they're not like how Creator said they would be…they're good. I haven't seen them glitch or…"

"I believe it is time for them to go," Frost said, her voice going cold, "They're obsolete, nothing compared to us. Creator made us for a reason, to replace them,"

"And who said you will make us?" Yasuo growled.

"Yasuo," Leona scolded before turning towards the blue Project, "I don't know what you're talking about, but we're not leaving without you. You're not safe here,"

"We are perfectly fine here," Frost protested.

Her blue optic narrowed, the blue light intensifying from the slit.

"I know you…" she said, "You're Project Dawn. Leader/Defender class. Former Project Leader."

"Former?" Cira blinked, slightly offended, "And who exactly do you think you _are_?"

"Incoming catfight," Zayne muttered, making Victoria snort.

"My designation is PROJECT: Frost," Frost growled, "Leader/Marksman class of the Disruption Initiative and, as it seems, the Overdrive Initiative. As to who I am? I believe that I'm a better version of _you_ ,"

"You think you're going to take my position from me? That's funny," Cira snorted, "They won't listen to you, the human spirit is too strong to break,"

"That so?" Frost asked, raising a perfect eyebrow.

She turned to the others, her one optic glowing like a star.

 ** _"Stand down and lay down your arms,"_** she ordered in the staticky, metallic language that only they could understand.

Dead silence.

Cira gave a slight grin.

"I told y-"

 _CLANG!_

Cira's blood froze as she turned around to see Yi drop his blade.

"What…" he started, his circuits flickering wildly.

 _CLANG! CLANG!_

Lucian's guns dropped to the floor, the Purifier's hands shook terribly.

 _CLANG!_

Yasuo's katana dropped.

Cira turned to Fiora and Zed, both who still held their weapons though their hands shook.

"Fiora? Zed?"

"Zed's gone," Zayne grunted, "He's…he's gone crazy again,"

"Victoria is gone too," Fiora blinked, her servo shaking as she tried to keep a grip on Scarlet, "What is going on 'ere!?"

 ** _"I said. Lay down your weapons,"_** Frost repeated.

Zayne gave a snarling growl as he struggled to keep his blades out and Fiora grit her teeth, trying to firm her grip on Scarlet's hilt.

"Stand fast," Leona said softly, yet it carried like a whipcrack, "Cira, are you alright?"

 _"I feel an annoying pull…but I'm good, Leo,"_ came the reply, before Cira chuckled, _"I'm part Irish…I'm stubborn enough to resist Queen Bee over there,"_

"Queen Bee?"

 _"Yeah, Leo…wait, you can't see who it is?"_ Cira asked, _"Leo…Project Frost is Ashe. Time here's Ekko…I bet Kat's around here somewhere,"_

Leona nearly dropped her blade in shock as Frost and Time's blurry figures started to clear. Cira was right. It _was_ Ashe and Ekko.

"Ashe? Ekko?" Leona asked, "What in the Sun are you two doing?"

"That name again," Frost sighed, "Why does everyone insist that those are our designations?"

"Because they are!" Leona said, stepping forwards.

 ** _"Cease your movement_!"** Frost barked, but Leona brushed off the command, continuing forwards.

"Ashe, you _have_ to listen to me," Leona told her, "Viktor did this to you. He did the same thing to all of us. You have a name, you have a family that loves you, you _have_ to remember and _rise up_ ,"

"Why aren't you following orders," Frost growled, starting to grow fearful of the golden Project calmly walking towards her.

"Because I remembered myself," Leona stated, "Memories make us human, they keep the machine from taking everything. They're more than ones and zeros, Ashe, Ekko…please, you have to remember,"

"How are you doing this!?" Frost snarled, looking at Fiora and Zayne, who were starting to get control of themselves again.

"Unlike the others, the three of us are different," Leona told her, "Our Chosens fight the code just as much as we do. While it might take over one…the code isn't strong enough to take over the whole soul. I know your Chosens are fighting…otherwise you would have killed me right now,"

 ** _"GET BACK!"_** Frost ordered and Leona's jaw twitched lightly as her limbs tried to lock up, but Cira's influence fought back, surging and sending sun-bright warmth flooding through her.

Suddenly, Cira wrenched control and forced Leona to dive backwards.

 _"What are you…?"_

Cira stood back up and pointed at where they had just stood…and where a pink Project now stood, blades sunk into the floor right were Leona's head would have been.

 _"Oh…"_ Leona blinked, _"Thank you,"_

"I've got your back, Leo," Cira smiled as she looked at the other Project, "Hey Kat, Tracy,"

"Ugh, great, she's like the three that we fought off earlier…" the newcomer grumbled.

"Blade, focus," Frost told her.

Blade's head moved as if she was rolling her eyes and she removed her blades from the ground.

"Look, it isn't safe here," Cira tried again, "You don't belong in this shoddy lab. You have homes, families that miss you terribly. You _have_ to come home,"

She could see Time and Blade's circuits give a flicker of uncertainty and their servos twitched.

So she _did_ have some semblance of control over these new ones. Maybe Viktor programmed them that way should Frost fall…

 ** _"We need to take Frost out first_ ,"** Leona said softly to Fiora and Zayne, **_"If she cannot order Time and Blade around, I can get them on our side,"_**

"Sounds like a plan," Zayne nodded, his strikers flashing out as he grinned, "You know…there's a _reason_ ADCs were terrified of Zed…"

He dashed at Frost, only to get intercepted by Blade. The two fought with each other in a flurry of blades and shadows, teleporting throughout the lab in an effort to keep the other one busy.

"While zey might 'ave feared Zed…once I got too close, zey feared me as well," Fiora growled, visor blazing as she dashed in.

Time intercepted her this time, ramming into her and sending her to the side. Fiora got back up, glaring, and charged him, dueling him. Leona looked at Frost, pain in her expression as she reached up and with a gasp of pain, pulled off the helm that hid her face. Frost stared at the scarred visage, at the sad, haunted golden gaze that seemed both young and old at the same time.

"What… _are_ you…" she wondered.

"I _was_ human," Leona told her, "As were you. I was kidnapped along with the rest of the Overdrive Initiative and experimented on. Like you I once called Viktor Creator. But he forgot that the people of the Mountain are a stubborn, hardy race that can't be contained for long. I broke free of the Programming and freed my companions as well. I know that you Freljordians are strong as well…Ashe I've seen your people, I've been to the snowfields, I've been to Rakelstake. You've taken care of your people and you'd do anything to protect them,"

"That isn't me…" Frost growled, her visor blazing.

"You know that's a lie," Leona said calmly, taking a step forwards, "Ashe, you and I fought on the Fields of Justice together. You were my Carry. I protected you on the Rift. Don't let them win. You're stronger than this…"

She got close enough to put a servo on Frost's shoulder. The Disruption leader shook as the abnormally warm appendage gently squeezed her shoulder, sending a surge of pleasant warmth through her.

"Call them off," Leona told her, "Let me show you. Once I show you what I think you're missing…you can choose to believe me or not. But please, give me a chance,"

Frost was silent for a moment.

"…I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust you," Frost admitted, "I don't know…"

She gave a grunt as pain exploded in her processor and she started to fall to her knees. Leona caught her, her warmth and light surging brightly in attempts to calm the attack.

"Amelia, Ashe, if you can hear me…cease," Leona murmured, "Let her call them off. You'll come home…soon, I promise,"

 ** _"Project Units Time and Blade, cease fighting,"_** came Frost's order, making Time and Blade freeze.

Zayne and Fiora still went at them, knocking both to the ground, ready to impale the downed Projects…

 ** _"Project Units Shadow and Duelist, cease fighting,"_** Leona ordered, voice cracking through the air like thunder and making both Fiora and Zayne freeze.

" _Leona_!" Zayne snarled, "You…!"

"You would have killed Katarina and Ekko if I didn't," Leona snapped back, "Both of you get them up. Frost, please release the rest of my team. I'd rather them be able to come with us out of here,"

Frost gave a weak nod and Leona could hear the other three Projects' knees hit the ground.

"I swear to whatever gods are out there, Leona," came Yasuo's growl, "You _ever_ do that to me and we're gonna have a talk…"

"I agree!" Zayne yelled

Leona raised an eyebrow and shot a deadpan look at her friends.

"Do I have to pick you up by the collars and smash you into each other again...?" she threatened.

"NO!" both yelped as Leona got up, picking Frost up and cradling the much lighter Project as Fiora and Zed helped Time and Blade.

"Good," she stated before looking at Jayce, "I believe it might be time to go?"

"You all go ahead," Jayce stated, "I'm fulfilling a promise we all made with Caleb a while ago,"

"We'll help," Lucian growled, picking up his and Senna's guns as he, Yi and Yasuo followed Jayce deeper into the lab.

"Let's take you to the infirmary," Leona said gently, pulling out a small, sun gold stone that began to glow, "Then, we'll show you what I meant,"

And with that, she and Frost burst into specks of blue and gold as Zed, Fiora, Time and Blade followed suit.

 **Rescue attempt 2: Successful! Heh, next we'll have the loved ones try to have the memories come back. And maybe Caleb'll see what his Champion has been doing behind his back...**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	13. Man or Machine (Part III)

**Good. Lord. This took forever...sorry everyone, had a weekend I wanted to spend with le boyfriend...and I couldn't figure out to do with some of these...hence the longer chapter. Unlike the Overdrive Projects...these three have Chosens and other family members...so we've got to get them in on the action as well.**

Chapter 12

Man or Machine (Part III)

Frost opened her good eye just to see high ceilings and white walls while bright light streamed through the windows. She sat up, groaning as her struts creaked.

"You're awake,"

She turned to face the voice, just to see a scarlet-haired woman in golden armor sitting on the windowsill, her skin faintly glowing in the light.

"I was hoping you'd get up sooner rather than later," the woman said with a warm smile that was eerily similar to…

"…Project Dawn?" Frost asked incredulously, staring at the red-head, "But…you were…"

"Unfortunately it's all cosmetic," came the sigh as the Overdrive Project's projector sputtered, revealing her true form before kicking back on, "Thanks to Jayce, I can look like myself again,"

Frost reached out only to freeze as she looked at her servo…or rather, hand. The pale, milky white _skin_ was littered with scars, but it looked human.

"What did you do to me?" she breathed.

"You're still you, but this is what you looked like before you were taken,"

"Dawn…"

"Leona, please," the other Project said, "Or Cira if my Chosen is in control…never Dawn. I'm proud of my name, it's the only thing that gives some semblance of the life I had before. When I was still human,"

"Leo…na," Frost frowned, "it…sounds so foreign yet familiar…"

"Should, since I've been protecting you for the better part of seven years since I joined the League," Leona chuckled, "You used to laugh and tease me about being so young and yet the most protective Support. You used to liken me to a mother hen,"

She came close, holding something in her hand. Frost cocked her head as Leona held out a shiny rectangle…a mirror. The Disruption Project took the mirror and curiously stared at the image within.

She saw hair that was so pale blonde it was nearly white, eyes that rivaled the glowing blue of her circuits, and scars that traced over it all like angry scarlet threads.

"If what you say is true," Frost started, " _If_ …I must say, this Ashe person you think I am is quite beautiful,"

"Tryndamere would agree wholeheartedly with you," Leona grinned, "He'd say you are the most beautiful person in the world. Of course, Garen, Pantheon, Zed and a few others would disagree with them…but they're a bit biased since they all have love interests,"

"Garen is the one Blade fought," Frost pointed out, "And 'Zed' is Project Shadow. Who is Pantheon? Him I do not know,"

"You know him alright," Leona said wryly, "that would be _my_ boyfriend. You used to tease us mercilessly and ask us when the wedding was. You were quite happy when he finally admitted he loved me and we started dating,"

She gave a sad smile as she offered her hand.

"If you're able to stand…there's some places I want to take you,"

"Might as well," Frost shrugged, frowning as she heard the cadence of her voice unaffected by metal.

She shook it off and took Leona's hand and the two disappeared in a burst of golden sparks.

Frost looked around, her good eye wide as she saw the white world around her. She knelt down, touching the substance, marveling as it melted under her touch.

"What is this?" she asked, "I've seen this before…but that isn't possible…I haven't seen this in Zaun…"

"We're not in Zaun," Leona told her, "We're in Freljord. Right outside of Rakelstake, the capital and your home, Ashe,"

Frost didn't even correct her as she stood up and turned her face towards the sky, letting the soft white flakes that fell from it land on her eyelashes and face.

"Why are you doing this?" Frost asked, looking at the Radiant Dawn.

Cira gave a sad smile.

"Because a Support is supposed to protect her Carry…" she replied before closing her eyes and bowing her head and saying in a soft voice that Frost couldn't hear, "And I failed to do that,"

Frost closed her eyes, a peaceful smile on her face.

"…Snow," she murmured, "This substance is called…snow. I remember snow…"

 _"My name…"_

Pain lanced through her processor again.

Leona gave a smile and touched Frost's shoulder again, transporting her back to the infirmary.

"Why did you…?" Frost started only for a now blue-eyed Leona to smile and look towards the back of the room.

"Because someone wanted to see you," Cira smiled.

Frost turned around to see the man from earlier, the one called 'Tryndamere'. The one she had shot and kicked…

Pain flashed through her processor. _The man, now in regal robes and golden crown, holding his hand out to her as bells rang and the crowd cheered ecstatically as a golden crown was set upon her own head and he gave her a tender kiss._

 _"My name…"_

"Ashe…" he started.

"My designation is Frost," she told him as he came to her, "I do not know this 'Ashe'. I am afraid you are mistaken,"

She stopped as he took her hands, holding them gently in his large, calloused ones. His icy-blue eyes sparkled with nothing but pure love as a sad smile graced his worn face. The image shifted as the pain intensified. _Lights flashed and flared around a stadium filled with people, cheering her on as she took a seat at a computer, a determined grin on her face._

"I could never forget my wife. I could never mistake her," he told her, gently squeezing her hands.

 _"My name…"_

Frost cried out, ripping her hands from Tryndamere's grasp and holding her head as pain exploded through her, feeling like it set her on fire. _She saw a young woman in navy and gold with pale blonde hair and icy blue eyes hold her hand out to her with a gentle smile. She saw a girl with red hair and dark eyes give a nod and smiled as well…taking her outstretched hand._

 _"My name…"_

She felt his hands on her cheeks and she felt his lips press against her own. She was drowning, she was being set ablaze, everything hurt and everything felt right…

 _"My name…is Ashe. My name…is Amelia,"_

Her good eye shot open as Tryndamere pulled away.

"Tr-Tryndamere!" she stammered, "You…you…"

She burst into tears and embraced him.

"I remember…you brought me back…" she sobbed, "Thank you…oh _Tryndamere_ I've missed you…"

"I've missed you too, Ashe," Tryndamere soothed, holding his wife tightly, "You as well, Amelia,"

He held her, kissing her head gently.

"I am never letting you leave my sight again, I _swear_ ," he promised.

* * *

Blade woke up to unfamiliar surroundings. It was too bright…to pale for her taste.

She tried to sit up, only for a pale hand to lay itself on her shoulder. She looked up to see a young woman with blue and gold hair and holding some sort of golden instrument that Blade didn't recognize.

"Who are you?" Blade asked.

The woman gave a gentle smile and plucked a few notes on the instrument's strings, a feeling of peace flooded through Blade as her aching body stopped it's aching.

"No answer?" Blade snorted, "That's rude…"

"Well, look who decided to join the land of the living!"

Blade looked up to see a red-haired woman flanked by the two intruders from earlier…Talon and Cassiopeia were their designations? Or was it Tommy and Kaitlyn?

"And _you_ are?" Blade growled, glaring at the red-head, "You better give me an answer unlike this human did…"

"Sona can't speak, she's a mute," the red-head deadpanned, "Be nice. You almost died on us, Sona brought you back,"

A faint, smug-sounding tune caught Blade's ear and she whirled on the Maven of the Strings…only to get grabbed by an iron grasp.

"I said, be nice," the red-head repeated.

Blade glared at her again.

"You still haven't answered me…"

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea, Leona," the snake-woman started softly, "She's still…maybe giving her some space is a good thing for now…"

"You and I both know that's a _bad_ idea, Kaitlyn," the red-head, Leona, stated.

"Leona…?" Blade started before it dawned on her, "You're PROJECT Dawn,"

"Oh how I _hate_ that name," Leona grumbled, "Please, just call me Leona or Cira if she's in control,"

"Why would you hate your designation?" Blade snorted, "It was given to you,"

"My _name_ is Leona Aurelia and Cira Noble," Leona repeated, a hint of a metallic growl in her voice, "Hence why the 'skin' is called PROJECT: Leona, rather than PROJECT: Dawn. Please call me by my real name and not Project designation,"

"I still don't understand why you'd want that, but whatever," Blade huffed, "Well…might be because your designation is so _lame_. Dawn. Seriously? Now Shadow, Duelist, Purifier… _those_ are amazing designations. But _Dawn_ …"

Leona could sense the eyeroll Cira was giving.

 _"Bit full of herself, this one,"_ the Chosen muttered, making Leona crack a smile.

"So what do you want," Blade deadpanned, "Obviously it's not to worry over my health…I've got the mute here,"

"Sona," Kaitlyn corrected, "She's got a name. And you should say it…she's saved all of us multiple times,"

Sona gave a brilliant smile and played a happy chord on her etwahl, grateful for Kaitlyn's objection.

"Oh, you…" Blade sneered, "How's the throat? Obviously it's better…since you can speak now rather than rasping and gasping for air…you turn a _magnificent_ shade of purple you know…"

Kaitlyn's serpentine lower half coiled and Leona reasoned that if she had a rattle on the end of her tail, it would be shaking.

"And you're still a jerk," Kaitlyn snarked back, getting a shocked look from Tommy and Leona both.

Kaitlyn wasn't hostile… _especially_ towards Tracy. She adored her older sister. Cassiopeia was working on Kaitlyn's self-confidence…but the girl never snapped at anyone really.

"Oooo, did the snake grow a spine?" Blade sneered, "That's new,"

"No, I just want my big sister back. Both me and Cass do," Kaitlyn spat, "You're a horrible person…Project…Blade. I'm surprised that Ashe and Ekko actually like you,"

"You take that back," Blade growled, sitting up.

"Make me," Kaitlyn snapped, "You can't hurt me. Tommy won't let you…neither will Sona or Leona. And honestly…those two scare me more than Tommy does,"

"Leona _does_ have a tendency to pick up misbehaving Projects by the collars and smash them together or against a wall," Tommy pointed out, getting a trilling series of notes from Sona as her shoulders shook and a soft chuckle from the Solari, "I wouldn't if I were you,"

"She has to catch me first!" Blade snapped, darting forwards towards Kaitlyn…

Only for a hand to snap out and grab her collar, hoisting her midair as her legs peddled uselessly.

"Don't let my looks fool you, Blade," Leona deadpanned, "I might be the tank and the slowest of the Projects running speed wise…but I am _very_ fast when it comes to reactions,"

Blade kept struggling, but the iron grip of the Support didn't budge. Finally, the lighter Project quit struggling, hanging from Leona's grip like a kitten being held by its mother.

"Are we done now?" Leona asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Put me down," Blade grumbled dejectedly

Another raised eyebrow.

" _Please_ put me down?"

"Much better," Leona smirked, gently setting Blade on the ground.

Blade started sulking, crossing her arms and turning her now scarlet head away from the others.

"There's still some of Kat in there," Talon chuckled, "I recognize that pout anywhere,"

"Watch it or I'll stab you," Blade threatened.

"Funny…how'd that work out for you last time?"

"I still threw you down the hall!" Blade snapped.

Talon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.

"Leona, how are we going to do this…" he muttered, "Ashe came back easily…Kat and Tracy aren't going to be as easy I think,"

"I don't…" Leona started.

 ** _"GET AWAY FROM ME!"_**

Leona's head snapped back towards Blade, whose projector sputtered, revealing her true form as Kaitlyn came closer.

"Kaitlyn, I suggest you stop advancing," Leona advised, "She's none too happy with you right now…"

"Huh?" Tommy asked.

"She told Kaitlyn to get away from her," Leona explained, "Projects have their own language that we can use to speak to one another. It's useful…but for most of us…it's a hassle and it reminds us again that we're not human anymore,"

Kaitlyn settled her body down next to Blade and touched her shoulder.

"M-Maybe it's seeing me like this that's hard for you to believe," Kaitlyn suggested.

"Kaitlyn, what are you doing?" Leona asked.

"I know what I'm doing," Kaitlyn said firmly, grabbing Blade's shoulder as the two disappeared in sparks of venom green and scarlet.

Blade opened her eyes and looked around to see a small home on a street…but nothing like what she had seen in Zaun. Something thundered down the stone road and Blade set her feet, blades out only for someone to grab her shoulder and yank her onto a raised sidewalk. Blade looked at the person…only to frown as she saw a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl in a revealing black shirt and shorts.

"Gotta be more careful, Tracy," the girl said, "I know you've been gone for a while…but…even Valoran had its dangers,"

Blade's eyes narrowed…only for them to widen slightly as she caught sight of not red, not white, but brown hair dangling in front of her face.

"What did you do to me?" she asked, "is this another part of the projector business that Piltovian was going on about?"

"What? No! Tracy, this is your body here on Earth," the girl explained, "Just like this is…mine…"

The girl stopped, staring at Blade's hands, well, rather, servos.

"I think that projector of his is busted," Blade deadpanned, clenching said servos.

"It might be a side effect of this whole thing," the girl stammered, "Maybe…"

"Kaitlyn? You ok?" came a female voice from inside one of the houses, "I thought I heard…"

Blade looked up to see a middle-aged woman walk out of the house, freezing as she caught sight of the Disruption Project.

"…Tracy?" she whispered.

"Mom…" Kaitlyn started, "It's not…"

"Tracy!" Liz Armstrong cried, dashing forwards and drawing Blade into an embrace, "My baby, you're _home_! You're _alive_!"

Blade disappeared in a flash of pink light, reappearing on the other side of the woman, blades out.

"Don't. _Touch_. Me," Blade snarled.

"Tracy Armstrong! Katarina Du Couteau!" Liz scolded, "Don't you _dare_ pull a knife on me! I don't care _who_ you are!"

"What is it with you humans and insisting I'm one of you!" Blade yelled.

"Kaitlyn…" Liz started, "What is going on?"

"We found out what happened to her, David and Amelia," Kaitlyn admitted, "They were um…taken by Viktor and turned into Projects. You know those cyber skins that you've seen us play Zed with? It happened to Tracy, she's not completely human anymore and her memory's been wiped. She thinks that she's not human at all and she doesn't recognize us. I thought bringing her home would jumpstart her…because Amelia remembers herself now,"

Liz nodded and walked up to the high-alert Project. Blade watched her warily and flinched when Liz put her hands on the Project's cheeks.

"Tracy…I know you're in there. My beautiful, brave baby girl who chose to go through with this to protect her cousin. I know Katarina's in there as well, and since her family isn't here…I'm going to make up for it,"

Pain shot through Blade's processor as the _images of a hospital came to mind, of chasing down a man in a dark coat and fedora and demanding to be 'Chosen'. Of finding a young man lying in a pool of blood in an alleyway and saving his life…_

 _"My name…"_

"What are you doing…" Blade demanded.

"I love you both, so, _so_ very much. I don't care what you look like. You're still my daughter,"

Blade started to move her head, but Liz held tight. Her processor flared in pain again and this time the wince showed on her face.

 _She saw Talon and Cassiopeia, she saw Cassiopeia sobbing hysterically into her hands as her serpentine lower half coiled in on itself, as she backed away from her as she approached and wrapped her arms around Cassiopeia's shoulders in an embrace, tears streaming from her eyes too._

 _"My name…"_

"I don't care if you remember, honey…I just want you to know you're loved. If your memories are gone, we'll make new ones, I promise," Liz told her, "You don't have to hide behind hostility anymore. No one is going to hurt you,"

Another flare. _She saw a girl with dark hair and green eyes angrily speaking to Andrew, giving him a piece of her mind. She saw the girl stand before her, a determined look on her face. She saw a woman with red hair and equally as green eyes before her, a cocky smile on her face as she held out her hand._

 _"My name…"_

"Just come back to us," Liz whispered, drawing Blade into an embrace as the Project gave an ear-piercing shriek, holding her head in agony.

Fragments of fiery lightning, of cold water, of burning, of drowning, screams of many people ringing through her ears…she was sure one of them was her own…

 _"My name…is Katarina. My name…is Tracy,"_

She gasped, collapsing to her knees as her shoulders heaved in sobs of pain and relief.

"No more…please no more…Mom…Kait…it _hurts_ ," Tracy cried, "I'm sorry…I'm _so_ sorry!"

"Tracy!" Kaitlyn squealed, darting over and nearly knocking her sister off her knees, "You're back!"

Tracy shook violently as she flinched from her sister's embrace.

"I'm sorry…I…I…" she stammered only for Kaitlyn and Liz both to hug her harder.

"You don't have to apologize, Tracy," Kaitlyn snorted, "It wasn't you…it was… _that_. The Project isn't you and it isn't Kat. Though…"

Her blue eyes turned green and Cassiopeia buried her head in her sister's shoulder as Tracy's green eyes brightened and Katarina held her sister.

"Please don't leave me again," Cassiopeia mumbled, "My heart can't take it…"

"I'm not leaving…not now, not ever," Katarina promised softly.

* * *

Project Time tossed the Timewinder up in the air and smirked as it came back down, settling in his now dark-skinned palm with a satisfying smack. He heard the Infirmary doors open and he sat up on the bed just to see a red-haired woman in golden armor and a blond-haired Summoner walking in.

"Glad to see you're awake," the woman smiled.

"Still trying to figure out what you did to me, but yeah, I'm awake," Time admitted, looking at his hands and then back up at the woman, "You're Project Dawn. But…what did the other Overdrive Projects call you? It wasn't Dawn, that's for sure…"

"Leona," the Overdrive Leader told him, "I'd actually prefer if you called me that…or Cira if my Chosen's in control. We refer to ourselves by our human names rather than our Project ones. Since we were forced into this…"

"Have to admit…I like Leona better," Time shrugged, "I mean, Dawn's cool and all…but Leona makes me think of these big strong feline creatures that Creator told us prowled the Great Barrier,"

"Funnily enough, that's why my parents named me that," Leona chuckled, "'Fierce as the Lions of Targon',"

"Though _that_ only comes out when the Carry is killed," the Summoner grinned.

"Andrew…" Leona growled playfully.

"Or when someone teases her apparently. She sure growled like one," Time quipped, getting a bark of laughter from Andrew while Leona shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Not you too…" she sighed, getting a bright grin from the Disruption Project.

"So uh…what're you two doing here?" Time asked, suddenly frowning, "You're not gonna dismantle me…are you?"

"What?!" both Champion and Summoner sputtered.

"No! Nonononono," Leona reassured him, "Whatever would put that in your mind?"

"We were told that you were kinda unstable…and we'd be dismantled if, hypothetically because we were told you were destroyed, you found us,"

"I'm going to strangle Viktor…" Leona growled, her projector flickering and her circuits burning before reverting to her golden armored form, "Ekko, dear, we're not going to hurt you. Quite the opposite,"

"Whaddya mean?" Time asked, "And who's Ekko?"

"You," Andrew said, "You're Ekko and you're David Allen, the Boy who Shattered Time,"

"I have to admit the name sounds cool…but it's not my designation. I don't have a name,"

"I'm a Project just like you, I have a name…don't you think you would as well?" Leona questioned.

Time frowned.

"It…kinda makes sense…but why would I have a name if I'm not human?" he asked.

"You're still partially human," Leona told him, letting the projector fall and painfully taking off her helm, showing her scarred, mostly human face, "Viktor might have told you that you're not human and he's partially right. We're not _completely_ human. But if you look at some of your teammates, you'll see that they've still got some humanity. You still have faces that look human under your visors for one thing,"

"I still dunno…" Time admitted, "Why would he lie to us?"

"To keep Ekko and David from rising up and struggling against him," Leona explained, "You aren't under his rule anymore. You're not weapons. _We're_ not weapons…we're human beings who laugh, cry, feel joy, feel fear, love, hate…the human spirit is a hard thing to keep down for long. Once it gets a foothold…there's no stopping it. Surely you had some doubts about your 'Creator'…"

"…He wanted us to hide," Time said slowly, "But…When I was on the surface…out in Zaun I…"

"You what?" Andrew asked.

"I felt _free_ ," came the soft admission, "I felt a pull farther into the city…I felt like I _knew_ where I was. Where that road would take me…I felt like I'd be happy if I followed it,"

"You probably felt like going home," Leona told him gently, "I felt that same pull when I escaped the first time. I felt a pull towards the mountains, I wanted to climb that highest peak because I felt there was something there waiting for me. And there was. My home village, the Solari village…both were there,"

"My home is in that lab though," Time admitted, "I…"

"David?"

Time froze.

"That voice…I know that voice…" he whispered.

Leona and Andrew gave nods to one another and they stepped back, revealing a little old lady with bright blue eyes and hair that rivaled the clouds in whiteness.

"Mr. Summers…this is my David?" the old lady asked.

"Yes, Ms. Grace," Leona smiled, "This is David…at least, here it is,"

Ms. Grace looked at the Project sitting on the infirmary bed and gave a relieved smile as she hobbled up and put a hand on his kneecap.

"You have no _idea_ the stress you put me through young man!" Ms. Grace scolded, "I about put myself in the grave when you didn't come home…"

"I…" Time blinked.

"You're lucky Mr. Summers came and told me what was going on," Ms. Grace continued, "a month! You have been gone for a month!"

"Uh…"

"Since your mother passed away, God rest her soul, I've taken care of you and made sure you didn't do anything stupid like you did within a few weeks of her death. I thought you jumped off a bridge or something!" Ms. Grace ranted, "David, you were doing so well! And when Mr. Summers came to me last night and said you were here and safe, I told him I was coming to see you,"

"The other Summoners don't know you are here, Ms. Grace," Andrew said quietly, "Technically you are not supposed to be here…but if it helps override this memory block he has…"

"I don't care if I was supposed to be here or not," Ms. Grace told him, shaking one of her long fingers right at Andrew's nose as she turned back to Time, "My David was in trouble and I needed to be here to help him,"

"I don't know you!" Time finally shouted, "I don't know who this David person is, I don't know who this Ekko person is! You all insist that I _am_ them but I'm not! My designation is PROJECT: Time, I…"

Ms. Grace grabbed his ear and Time yelped.

"David Allen, you listen and you listen good," Ms. Grace growled, getting a stifled snort from Cira as the Overdrive Project covered her mouth with a servo while her eyes sparkled in mirth, "I didn't come all this way to hear you talk nonsense. What would your mother say if she saw you acting like this?!"

 _"My name…"_

Time gave a pained cry as he wrenched his head back and grabbed it while memories flared. _He saw a dark-skinned woman with a lovely smile suddenly collapse to her knees and sob into her hands as police officers told her some horrible news. He saw the same woman lying in a pool of blood, that smile shaky but full of love as she stroked his cheek one last time._

"Make it _stop_!" Time pleaded as Ms. Grace came to him again and embraced him.

 _He was running, panic making his core race as he flew over the rooftops and down a fire escape, finding the crumpled body of a little boy, shaking in pain as his bruised and battered body struggled to breathe, as he held the boy in his arms, singing softly as the boy's last breath rattled into the air._

 _"My name…"_

"David, whatever this nasty thing is…you can't let it win," Ms. Grace soothed, "Same as you, Ekko was it? You have to fight…"

Pain knifed through his processor again. _He stood his ground against a mountain of what used to be a man…a Vigilnaut. He dodged the swing, slashing through the hose of coolant before getting thrown. Time rewound. He slashed the hose again before hacking off the bolt holding the arm together and getting kicked, his arm getting crushed under a metal foot. Time rewound. He slashed the hose, dodging the kick and rolling to the side, daring the Vigilnaut to charge him, it did and he slashed the bolt, making the arm malfunction and catapulting the monster…into the memory wall. Time rewound…_

 _"My name…_ "

"Please…it hurts…" Time begged, crying out again as the memories rocked his being, sending shards of pain through him.

 _He wearily looked at himself in the mirror…not at all what he had seen a few seconds ago. His now dark head bowed as he grabbed an amber bottle with a white lid and cracked it open, swallowing all the contents. His world blurred and he fell. He saw a boy with white hair and blue-green specked brown eyes smirking as he held out his hand. He saw the dark haired boy give a weary smile and took the hand._

Lightning, repeated and rewound torture, water, burning, drowning, the taste of metal in his mouth seared through his mind's eye.

 _"My name…is Ekko. My name…is David,"_

He shook under Ms. Grace's embrace…and returned it.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered, "I'm sorry I left you, Ms. Grace…you…you're the only family I have on Earth. I'm sorry…"

Ms. Grace smiled and tipped David's face up to meet her gaze.

"I forgive you," she told him, "It wasn't your fault…but I am warning you. You might kill me if you do this again. David…I'm not going to be around forever. You know that,"

"I know," David murmured, "I just…I wanted to say I'm sorry,"

Ms. Grace gave a smile and hugged the boy she'd taken care of.

"Oh, what am I saying…I'm glad I have you back, child," she laughed.

"I'm glad to be back," David murmured before his eyes gained blue and green specks.

"Both of us," Ekko nodded before looking down at himself and at the glowing green circuits, frowning.

What was he going to tell his parents?

 **I _love_ Ms. Grace. She's so sassy and reminds me a bit of my own Gram. She's the only 'family' David has and sadly, it is quite possible she will pass away since she's quite old. The day that happens...David will be crushed, but he knows that he's got Ekko. I figured that Kat would be the hardest to break...seeing as how Project Blade is kinda awful. Anyways, next we have Ekko going _back_ to Zaun and to his parents. But, he's not going to be alone, that's for sure. And We _will_ see Caleb next chapter, I promise. How this'll go over...I'll let you take a guess. Also, _please_ let me know what you guys think...it makes my day when I get stuff from you all and it lets me know I'm actually doing something right. I want to hear what you thought of the chapter, what you liked, what you didn't, what you think'll happen...because you never know if I might actually use it... :)**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	14. Secrets and Trust

**I'll admit, I had quite a good chunk of this typed up *cough* the ending *cough* I will say, we are near the end...next chapter _should_ be the epilogue. After that, we'll be back on character arcs starting with Jinx!**

Chapter 14

Secrets and Trust

There was laughter and sounds of joy in the Infirmary, first time in a long time…especially with the three newly returned Champions and Chosens.

"I swear, you're not leaving our sight," Tommy huffed as he and Kaitlyn hugged Tracy, who merely gave a smug grin as she stretched and put her arms around her cousin and sister.

"And I don't want to either," Tracy said.

"Same goes here," Tryndamere growled, holding Ashe tightly as the Frost Archer smiled and leaned her head against his chest.

"I might be running into things for a while," Amelia admitted, "Just until I relearn depth perception,"

Tryndamere's eyes blazed in anger.

"I'm going to kill him," he swore.

"Dear…" Ashe sighed, "No bloodshed off the Rift…"

"He _blinded_ you…his wellbeing goes out the window,"

"Believe me, we all are still angry about this," came the low baritone growl from the entrance.

The three new Projects and their loved ones looked up to see the original six and _their_ loved ones.

"But I do wonder if Caleb had anything to do with this," Pantheon finished.

"I don't know," Leona admitted, "But…"

She fell silent grabbing her wrist and looking down at the floor. Her boyfriend put his arms around her, comforting her.

"It's not _so_ bad I guess…" David shrugged, "I mean, I feel like I can run a few marathons without breaking a sweat, but it still hurts to move some ways,"

"Yeah, just skip out of the whole 'tortured' bits," Tracy snarked, "I dunno about you, but I didn't much appreciate getting blasted with lightning…"

"I just thought of something though…" David started, "What's gonna happen to us back on Earth?"

"What do you mean?" Amelia asked.

"Well, we know that Cira, Victoria and Zayne look like their Project selves on Earth, but that was because they were Chosen after their Champions had been changed," Ekko reasoned, "You three were Chosen _before_ we were…taken,"

"Kait took me home and I ended up still having servos and I think my legs were still screwed up," Tracy stated, "So we're still human…for the most part. Just altered a bit,"

"Wait…so will we have sight in our eye again?" Amelia blinked, "I mean, 'cause here…well…I'm…"

She suddenly burst out laughing.

"Oh my _God_ I'm Nick Fury…"

Tracy, David, Cira, Arthur, Victoria, Shane and Zayne all started howling.

"My God, you are," Cira chuckled, "I always thought of you like Hawkeye, but…"

"From what Ashe tells me you're quite the archer too, Leo," Amelia grinned.

Cira's eyes flashed gold and she gave a faint blush.

"I'm nowhere as good as you or Lucian," she muttered, "Hence why I'm a Support…not a Carry,"

"So, now what?" Tracy asked, "Do we just…go home? I mean…I feel like there's something that needs to be done. I mean… _you_ guys had a hard time reintegrating. Care to explain if we'll have that same problem?"

"Somewhat," came the shrug from Lucian, "But you three have it a _lot_ easier than we did,"

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"For one, your memories are all intact," Victoria said, "Ze only ones who remembered what 'appened to zem were Leona and Yasuo. Every time Zayne and I brought up ze subject, Fiora and Zed 'ad no idea what we were talking about,"

"And they thought we were crazy," Zayne added.

"It carries a downside though as well," Cira said, "We thought our PTSD was bad…but yours…time will only tell how it will effect you. Unlike us, you have people you can actually talk to,"

"Six who've actually been through this," Yasuo told them, "We'll help you as much as we can. It's hard, and it never goes away…but it might be easier on you because you'll have help and support,"

"Literally," Cira chuckled, raising a laugh from those present.

"As for the loved ones," Arthur started, getting them to look up, "I'm sorry to say, but your job is going to be just as hard, if not harder,"

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked.

"It kind of ties in with the PTSD thing," Shane explained, "They all get really nasty nightmares every night. They relive them getting turned and some of the things they did while still under Viktor's thumb. You're gonna be in for some long, sleepless nights,"

"If I can help alleviate some of that pain, sleep is a sacrifice I'm willing to make," Tryndamere said firmly.

"I'm sorry you all went through this," Cira murmured, "I should have kept a closer eye on you…I failed my job,"

"You couldn't have known, Ci," Arthur told her, "None of us could have,"

"But I should have been there to help," Cira growled, "And now look what happened…"

She gave a heavy sigh.

"I just…I can't believe Caleb…"

"Can't believe Caleb what?" came a familiar voice that made all nine Projects freeze.

Sixteen heads turned to face Caleb, who had stopped in the doorway.

"Sorry, ears were burning and I happened to be walking by," Caleb apologized, "I…"

He let out a yelp as he was tackled by a Barbarian King.

"Tryndamere!" Ashe yelled, dashing forwards at inhuman speed and pulling her husband off of poor Caleb, who now sported a few dents in his armor.

"What…what did I do!?" Caleb demanded, "I'd understand if Pantheon, Shen or Wukong here did that, but _why_ you!?"

Yi frowned.

"You…do not know?" he asked slowly.

"Know what?" Caleb blinked, "I just got back from my lab, which was completely wrecked and in flames…"

He stopped as he spotted David, whose projector had glitched at the _wrong_ time.

"What the…" he breathed, "David…what happened to you?"

"Oh nothing…" David growled venomously, "Just got _kidnapped_ and _tortured_ and _turned into a Project_ ,"

"Who!?" Caleb demanded, "David, who did this to you?"

"That's funny…because you'd think you'd remember the one you liked to torture the most," Ekko hissed, "You _stole_ my Z-Drive and broke every bone in my body, rewound time and _did it all again_! Not once, not twice but _multiple times_!"

"I didn't…" Caleb stammered, "Ekko, I didn't do that! I swear!"

"You sure?" Amelia asked, "Because the guy who did this to us looked a _lot_ like Viktor, Caleb,"

Caleb's eyes turned horrified as he looked at the other two Chosen, whose projectors switched off.

"Those are my designs…" he breathed, "But I didn't…"

If one could have seen Caleb's face…one would have seen that all the blood had drained out of it as a stricken look crossed it.

"Viktor…what did you _do_ …?" he whispered, "Did you do this?"

 _"Do what?"_ Viktor asked.

"Viktor!" Caleb snarled, "You know _very_ well what I'm talking about! DID YOU MAKE ME DO THIS TO THEM!?"

 _"I did no such thing,"_ Viktor replied.

Caleb started shaking.

 _"I_ did _however do it myself,"_

"How…" Caleb started before it dawned on him, "You did it when I was asleep…or too hopped up on medicine…"

He turned to the Projects and their loved ones.

"I had no idea…" he started, "You have to believe me…"

"Kinda hard…because you looked like you enjoyed it," Tracy deadpanned.

"Please…Cira you ha-," he stopped, his blood running cold as he looked at the First Chosen.

It wasn't that Cira looked angry that made Caleb want to crawl under a rock, nor was it fear.

It was the look of disappointment in those stormy blue eyes that made Caleb feel like he was less than an inch tall. He'd broken her trust and something told him that it would be hard, if possible at all, to get it back.

"You have to believe me," Caleb pleaded, "I didn't know…I didn't have anything to do with this…all I did were sketches, but I did that with everyone. I even told him that I would only do them if someone said yes and I would make as painless as possible. I didn't want any of this to happen…"

"I think it's time you go, Caleb," came Cira's deathly quiet voice.

Caleb flinched. She didn't even raise her voice in anger…though he could _definitely_ feel it in the metal-laced voice.

"I'm going to fix this," Caleb swore, looking Cira directly in the eyes, "Even if it kills me. I'm going to fix this…"

She said nothing, the look of disappointment still there. Caleb ran out of the Infirmary, anger burning in his heart.

 _"Caleb,"_

"I don't want to hear a _word_ out of you," Caleb snarled, "You _did_ this to them! Viktor we talked about this…you can't _do_ that to people!"

 _"…"_

"I don't care how much work you put into this," Caleb told him, "I'm undoing it all,"

He sensed the anger rising in his chest from Viktor, but his own Anger overruled it.

"You aren't taking control of me again," Caleb growled, "I'm going to get Andrew or another High Summoner to make sure you don't. Not without my express permission. I refuse to take another beating because of something _you_ did,"

Viktor was silent still. He didn't talk for a good long while after that either.

* * *

After being deemed fit to leave by Soraka, Sona and Akali, the three Disruption Projects started to part ways and recover. Unfortunately, there was another problem.

During the scuffle with Warwick before, Ekko's core had cracked, causing his voice and movements to glitch at the worst times. That also included the projector. So, to help with it…they called in Jayce, much to Ekko's displeasure.

The Zaunite boy was giving Jayce a hard time, doing what Jayce asked…but only after a round of bickering and biting sarcasm thrown at him. By the end of it, Ekko's core was still cracked, but the glitching was stabilized somewhat. And, even after everything Ekko said and did, Jayce offered to take the boy back to Zaun and to his parents. Ekko protested, but Jayce reminded him that it was still a real possibility that the projector would glitch again and Jayce would be the only one to fix it. The Boy Who Shattered Time tried to snap back, but David took over that time and agreed to let Jayce accompany him and Ekko back to Zaun.

Ekko's throat tightened as they reappeared in Zaun from the Institute. They weren't too far from the Memory Wall where he had been taken by the Vigilnauts. He gave a shudder, a faint flicker travelling over his form. Jayce put a steadying hand on Ekko's shoulder and the boy glared at him, throwing off the reassuring appendage and continuing on his way.

"I know you don't like me," Jayce finally said as Ekko turned his head, his form sputtering.

"No, really, what g-g-gave you _that-t-t_ impression," Ekko huffed, putting a hand on his chest as his voice glitched slightly.

"Look, I'm not going to try and change what you think of me," Jayce sighed, "But I'm only trying to help you, Ekko,"

" _Riiiiiight_ ," Ekko drawled as he tightened his grip on his bat, "Let's see…last time someone said they're were 'only trying to help'…"

His form started sputtering, sending a vibrant green glow as his circuits ignited and a visor appeared over his eyes.

"I got turned into a _freaking monster_!" he snarled, "Save your pity, _P-P-Piltie_. I d-d-don't need it,"

"I'm not pitying you, Ekko," Jayce tried, "Look, I'm just as upset about this as you are. Not that I'm taking you _back_ to your parents, who are worried sick about you…but that this happened to you in the first place. We thought Caleb would be able to control Viktor…we were wrong,"

"Wow, you're admitting you're wrong on something," Ekko snarked, crossing his arms as his visor flickered, "That's a first,"

Jayce took a deep breath.

"Kid, I'm serious. I want to help you…but I can't if you fight me," he said slowly, "Your projector reacts with your mood. If you're too angry or too scared, it'll fail. I couldn't figure out how to bypass that…whatever AI Viktor installed in you found a backdoor in the projector and tied it with your feelings. You're a hot tempered teenager who thinks he knows everything and doesn't understand why this had to happen to him,"

"And _what_ makes you think that," Ekko growled.

"One: Leona was the _same_ way when she was turned. She wasn't much older than you when Viktor got his claws on her," Jayce told him, "And two: _I_ was a hotheaded teenager who thought he knew everything,"

Ekko gave a staticky huff and Jayce imagined the Project rolling his eyes.

"You think I don't care about your home, about Zaun, don't you?" Jayce finally said.

"What gave you that idea," Ekko deadpanned, "None of you Pilties do. To you all, this is the place where the rejects and idiots go. You _say_ it isn't, that you couldn't survive without Zaun…but you all think differently. If Zaun disappeared, you Pilties wouldn't care one bit,"

"And that's where you're wrong," Jayce pointed out, "You didn't look too deeply into my family history, did you?"

"…What are you g-getting at," Ekko growled, his glow deepening to a more emerald green in his anger.

"My parents were born and raised in Zaun," Jayce explained, "They didn't want me growing up choking on the Grey and so they worked hard to get a place in Piltover to raise me. I still like to come down here…to see where my family actually came from. I might be Piltovian…but I do have some Zaunite in me. Pretty close. I'm not trying to make you all disappear, Ekko…I'm trying to make this place safer,"

Ekko was silent and with a soft crackling sound, his projector kicked back on. The dark eyes specked with blued-green glared at him.

"We don't need you here," he said softly as he turned around and started towards his home.

Jayce sighed, shaking his head.

 _"Kid, you don't know it yet…but you're acting_ exactly _like me…"_ Jayce thought as he followed Ekko.

* * *

It took a while, but they finally made it to the apartment where Ekko's parents and he himself lived. Sneaking past the landlord was fun, at least in Jayce's mind. The Piltovian had never done something like that before…even as a child. He wondered what would have happened if they had been caught.

He was knocked out of his thoughts as he almost ran into Ekko. The boy-turned-Project had stopped before a chipped and splintered wooden door.

"This the place?" Jayce asked, almost shocked that a Champion of the League lived in a place like this.

The Boy Who Shattered Time gave a nod, pulling his 'shirt' down farther to hide the Z-Drive that was belted at his waist.

"Your parents don't know you can rewind time, do they?" Jayce asked.

The Project shook his head.

"I'd rather keep it that way…they worry enough as is,"

Ekko reached for the door, his dark hand shaking violently as his form flickered. Jayce lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't you let me go first," he suggested, "So you can calm down a bit,"

Ekko looked up at him, his eyes flashing between his dark human eyes and the vibrant green visor that covered his face. He seemed to fight himself…but eventually David took control, gave a nod and stepped back, taking a few steadying breaths as Jayce knocked on the door.

It didn't take long for an answer.

Kaela opened the door, her dark eyes widening as she saw Jayce. She gave a soft gasp and frantically started straightening her hair.

"Sir!" she stammered, "Oh, dear, I'm so sorry…the place is a wreck and Elian is asleep…please, come in…"

"It's alright, Kaela, I promise I won't be here long," Jayce reassured her, "I'll stay here in the doorway. Could you please wake your husband? I'm sorry to ask it, he probably had a long day…but this is important,"

Kaela nodded and Jayce could hear Ekko mutter something in a low, staticky language that he'd often heard the Overdrive Projects speak in. Jayce turned to face him, seeing the distressed look on the boy's face as he spotted his mother leaving the doorframe.

"What's wrong?" Jayce asked.

"…I'm a freak," Ekko muttered, "I shouldn't let them see me…they'll…they'll…"

He started shaking and glitching again. Jayce put steadying hands on the boy's shoulders.

"You are _not_ a freak," Jayce said firmly, "This was forced on you, _just_ like it was the others. These are your parents. They will love you no matter what you look like. You're still their child. Don't worry…"

He heard footsteps and he let Ekko go, turning to face Kaela and Elian as they made their way to the door…still unable to see their son behind the Defender of Tomorrow.

"I'm sorry to wake you, sir," Jayce apologized, "But…I thought this would be important. For both of you,"

Both Zaunites frowned, looking at one another…And Jayce stepped aside…revealing the thin, heavily scarred and burned form of Ekko.

"JONATHAN!" Kaela shrieked, teleporting to her son's side and tackling him to the ground, getting a soft 'oof!' from the Disruption Project, "Oh _Jonathan_ …"

She started sobbing and Elian ran to his son, hugging him tightly as tears streamed down his own face. Ekko blinked rapidly, his face contorted in anguish as tears fell and he hugged his parents, shoulders shaking in sobs.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," he wept, "I didn't…I c-c-couldn't…"

"You're here…you're _home_ …" Kaela whispered, still crying, "We have you _back_ ,"

Elian turned a tearful face to Jayce.

"You brought him back alive," he told him, gratefully grabbing Jayce's hands and shaking them, " _Thank_ you,"

"It wasn't just me," Jayce told them, "Leona, Yasuo, Yi, Lucian, Fiora and Zed helped me locate him, Katarina and Ashe. We found him in Viktor's lab, deep under the Sump. He's still very injured, the League is letting him recover from the incident, so he's to remain in the house and taking it easy for a while. Not that you're going to let him out of your sight anytime soon…am I correct in guessing?"

"You aren't leaving your room," Kaela muttered, her voice muffled as she still had her head buried in her son's chest.

"I…I don't mind that," Ekko agreed.

"You _or_ David," Kaela added.

Ekko's face went pale and a faint ripple ran over him.

"You…know?" he asked slowly.

"I'm your mother, you can't hide things from me," she deadpanned, getting a soft laugh from Jayce and Elian, "I'm very proud of you…for being brave and giving David a second chance to live. I _would_ like to meet him every once in a while…"

The blue-green specks in Ekko's eyes faded and David gave a shrug.

"I'm glad to meet you too," he finally said, "You…uh…you remind me a lot of my ma…if she was still alive,"

Kaela held David's cheeks in her hands, smiling.

"You are part of this family now," she told him, "Nothing is going to change that,"

David gave a smile and gave Ekko back control. Ekko looked at his parents and gave a tired smile.

"I'm…just glad…to be…home," he mumbled.

 _Power levels at 0.001%. Commencing System Shutdown._

His dark eyes gave a weak flash and he collapsed to the side, completely unconscious. Kaela gave a light shriek and Jayce held up his hands.

"He's just tired…he's been through a _very_ big ordeal," Jayce explained, "He'll have nightmares. He's…different now. What Viktor did to him…he's changed. He'll tell you eventually, but I would suggest waiting until he is ready before you press. This has happened before…the six Champions I mentioned have gone through it too. They are alright now, but they still had a long road to recovery,"

Kaela gave a smile as she stroked her son's wild white hair.

"I don't care," she whispered, "I have my sons back. I'm thankful that they are _alive_ ,"

 **Caleb's kinda crushed. The Chosens have a 'relationship' with Cira. She's kinda the Mom of the the whole group mainly because she trained them and all and is their protector. Hence why that look of disappointment really hurt. Cira's one of those that will give you their trust immediately...but if you break it...it takes a long time for it to heal. Kaela knew about David not long after Ekko Chose him. Again, you can't hide anything from Mama. Also, _please_ let me know what you guys think...it makes my day when I get stuff from you all and it lets me know I'm actually doing something right. I want to hear what you thought of the chapter, what you liked, what you didn't, what you think'll happen...because you never know if I might actually use it... :)**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


	15. Epilogue: Recovery

**I know it's short...but I really liked this how this ended. This is the epilogue of this Project arc, it's set six months after the return of the Disruption Projects, so the 'skins' have been released to the public and the three have come to terms with being changed now. I also wanted to have a chapter with really just the two Project Leaders talking to each other, so it's just Ashe and Leona here.**

Epilogue

Recovery

 _Six Months Later…_

The target quivered as a bolt of freezing blue plasma nailed it right in the bullseye. Amelia grinned, letting the bow go back to her side.

"Nice shot," Cira praised, "Looks like your depth perception is back,"

Amelia gave a soft laugh, unconsciously putting a hand to the patch of smooth black metal covering where her left eye had been. She saw Tryndamere coming towards her, putting his arms around her shoulders and keeping her in a warm embrace.

"Still as beautiful as ever too," he smiled, making Ashe laugh.

"I swear, you're just as bad as Arthur and Pantheon," she scolded, smacking his midsection and getting a rumbling chuckle from him.

"You two are such a cute couple…" Leona teased, "When should we be expecting to be Aunt Leona and Aunt Cira?"

Ashe's porcelain cheeks flushed a faint scarlet as her projector flickered, showing electric blue circuits for a mere second before reverting back. She then put her hands on her hips.

"When should I be expecting an invitation for you and Pantheon's wedding?" she fired back, getting a deep blush from the Support.

"Touché," Leona muttered.

"Taking lessons from Fiora are we?" Ashe teased.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Funny," came the huffing growl.

"How're the others holding up?" Ashe asked, her smile fading, "Kat, Tracy, Ekko and David?"

"Coping well, just like you," Leona replied, "but to be honest…I don't think its them that are coping badly,"

"Oh?"

Leona gave a sigh.

"Caleb for one is still angry at what happened. He's been apologetic...he even let Kaela deck him when she found out what he did to Ekko,"

"Ah, right...I was there for that one..." Amelia shuddered, "I didn't know that sweet, gentle woman could punch that hard. She sent Caleb flying,"

"Beware the peacemakers," Leona deadpanned, "And it wasn't Caleb she sent flying. Caleb forced Viktor into control right as the punch landed, so he didn't have any time to react,"

"He's getting better at switching I noticed," Ashe chuckled.

"I haven't seen much of him lately, he's been locked in his room, pouring over ways to give your humanity back," she touched her chest and got quieter, "Maybe even ours…"

Ashe gave a sad smile and put a hand on the young Support's shoulder.

"It's ok," she told her, "To be honest…I'm not mad at Caleb. It's Viktor we're all really angry at,"

"That's what we keep telling him," Leona mumbled, "But he's obsessed with making amends and thinks its his fault for letting Viktor take control of him,"

"Sometimes we take control of our Chosen forcibly as well," Ashe replied, "I've done it…and I'm sure you've done it a few times as well,"

Leona nodded.

"And vice versa as well. I hate to admit it, but Cira often had to lock me down whenever Diana was in the same room as me,"

Ashe gave a nod and Leona gave a sigh.

"I've got to go, Andrew said I'd be called for a match soon. You three'll probably be put in soon as well,"

"I think that match you're talking about is my first one back too," Ashe said, "Katarina and Ekko will be joining us. The Summoners have announced the new 'skins' to the Rioters on Earth and the Rioters have released them I'm expecting quite a few matches…"

"Makes me wonder if I'll be taken too…to fit with the 'theme'," Leona chuckled, "Considering I'm the only Defender Project there is,"

She gave a wave and started off…only for Ashe to call out.

"Leona, you said there was a second you were worried about coping with what happened," she called, "Who is it?"

Leona gave a sad smile as she stopped and put a hand on her chest before leaving without a word.

Ashe's face fell.

"What is it?" Tryndamere asked.

"The second person she's worried about…it's Cira," Ashe reasoned.

 **And that's it. Cira's kinda coping badly with this whole ordeal..she believes that she she should have been there to protect the three Disruption Projects from being turned (even though it was impossible and there was no way she could have known). She thinks she failed as the Chosens 'Protector'. So that's going to be a bit of an issue for a while. Caleb is upset (and rightfully so) but the Projects all say its not 'his' fault. The Champions understand because they take control of their Chosens all the time, sometimes forcibly. The Chosens are still angry, but in their heart of hearts, they know he's innocent. And even though it's impossible, he's going to do his best to figure out how to change it. Anyways, we'll be going back to Character arcs now. Jinx is coming up next and to those of you who don't know...Jinx's Chosen is Cira's _cousin_. You guys thought that Arthur losing it when Cira got hurt was bad...let's just say: Andrew is banning Cira from Supporting Jinx for a while.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!**

 **Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)**

 **Máriessë ar mára tecië**

 **Farewell and fair writing**

 **Elhini Prime signing off.**


End file.
